The Hijacked Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noire
by ErisLuna35
Summary: Shizuke Midorikawa was just an average boy who lives in an apartment above a flower shop with his grandmother. Blair Crawford was a fairly famous girl who models part time with her brother but dreams to be something else. They had nothing in common… Until a monster attacked their school and they received magical jewelry that allows them to transform into superheroes.
1. 0-1 Introduction

_A/N: Hey there readers! This is ErisLuna35, previously known as LunaLunaLuna from Archive of Our Own, cross-posting this story of mine here. I'll be updating this every few days til it catches up to Archive of Our Own. Gotta admit, typing up stories here is a bit easier than in Ao3. The only downside is the inability to add pictures but, oh well. Anyway, I've written this story because I wanted to write a different ML story. I love the universe and the characters, but I have no confidence in writing them accurately so instead, I'm writing a story where someone else handles this kind of set up. I've read stories with a similar premise, whether it's set in the past or in the future, and as fun as they were, I was hoping for something a little more divergent from canon. So this is what this fic is about, a very different cast of people handling the world of Miraculous Ladybug._

 _So readers, I hope you enjoy! Please read and review! Thank You!_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1: A NORMAL BOY WITH A SECRET**

The sunset's orange hues gently lit the barely occupied classroom. The teacher was standing to the side, quietly watching over the students. The sound of pencils furiously scribbling on paper were the only sounds in the stuffy room.

Among the students was me- the dark haired, bespectacled boy sitting right next to the door- eyes locked on my test paper, writing a hundred words a minute.

I really really really need to go. But I can't just leave! I already missed this exam the first time; I can't afford to miss this now. I'm lucky I haven't been kicked out of my scholarship! I'm not about to push it!

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket for what felt like the millionth time in the past three minutes.

 _Ladyblog: Akuma Alert! There's an akuma currently attacking at -_

Hawkmoth! This is not an appropriate time to be causing trouble! Doesn't that evil woman have anything better to do at this hour?!

… Oh no, I actually wrote that on my essay. I made a move to erase it, but the eraser slipped out of my hands and bounced on the floor. I jumped out of my seat, the suddenness of my action made my chair fall back loudly clattering to the ground. I scrambled to get everything back in order. When I finally settled, I glanced around the room.

Everyone's eyes were on me. I shrunk back into my seat as I tried my best to ignore them. The orange haired teacher walked over to me carefully, like he's approaching a cornered animal.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Oh uh, nothing, Mr. Ross…" I muttered sheepishly.

The teacher accepted my answer and went back to his spot.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. Focus. I've studied this all night. I know all the answers. I can do this!

I looked back at where I left off on my essay and started writing furiously. I have to get out of here fast. Time is of the essence.

The people of Helios are counting on me.

Writing down the last words, I did a mental happy dance.

"DONE!" I yelled, jumping out of my seat.

Everyone's eyes were on me once again, but I no longer care. I walked over to the teacher and passed him my paper.

"Already?" the teacher asked in disbelief. "You're not gonna double-check this?"

"No, Mr. Ross," I said, shifting from one foot to another, ready to run out the door at a moment's notice. I looked at the clock above the teacher's head. This makeup test was supposed to take an hour to finish. I finished it in 17 minutes. I can only pray I didn't mess up any of my answers. "I'm in a hurry. It's an emergency!"

The teacher looked over the paper, checking for any blanks. Finding none, he tucked the paper into his folder. "Alright. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, sir!"

I grabbed my things and bolted out of the room.

 _My name is Shizuke Midorikawa. Age 15, born on May 4_ _th_ _. Just a normal boy with a normal life._

Dodging every student that gets in my way, I quickly made my way to the men's room.

 _But there's something about me that nobody knows yet. Because I have a secret…_

As soon as we were alone, a tiny ladybug sprite flew out of my pocket as I checked on what the Ladyblog has to say about the latest akuma attack. The akuma hasn't moved from the park.

"Shizuke, let's go!" Tikki urged.

"Right. No time to waste," I held out my sleeves, my cuff links, my Miraculous, surging with power ready to be called out. "Tikki! Spots On!"

Tikki flew into my cuffs and awakened the power within them. In a flash of pink light, the power flowed all over me, covering me like a second skin. In place of my usual long sleeved black button up, red tie, and white sweater vest was a skin tight red suit with big black polka dots. My dark hair became a bluer shade than normal, and my glasses hiding my brown eyes were replaced by a red, polka dotted domino mask. I have a belt that held my weapon, a yoyo. My cuff links, the source of my power, were now on a pair of black gloves.

"Time to save the day," I said to get myself pumped up and jumped out of the nearest window.

 _I am one of the heroes of Helios City._

0-0-0-0-0

I swung across the Helios City. The cool bite of the early January wind, old stone and brick structures blending with modern stream lined buildings, people cheering as they saw one of their heroes swinging by, roofs and sidewalks sprinkled with the last specks of snow from winter, greenery slowly reclaiming their rightful place, the complex labyrinth of red stone bridges, glowing lights of the street lamps surrounding the city founder Luke's Statue at City Square, the castle of Ashworth standing proud in the distance as the heart of the city…

This is my home.

Seeing the humongous century-old tree of Lucia Park, I knew I was close to where the akuma was causing trouble. There's a flash of light somewhere near the park's gate. I stopped on a nearby building, scanning the area before jumping in.

Right in the middle of danger, I spotted a tall gangly brunet in a bright orange checkered shirt dodging the akuma's beam attacks while gleefully streaming everything to the Ladyblog.

"Weep ladies of Helios! Blake Crawford will soon belong to me! For I, Poppyrazzi, will create a world for the two of us with my trusty camera!" she loudly declared, pausing in her rapid fire shots.

"Um, you just said that exact same rant like, a few minutes ago. Is there anything _else_ you'd like to tell my viewers?" mocked the boy in orange checkers in a tone that reminds me of a dumb blonde valley girl.

The akuma screeched in anger and returned to shooting at the Ladyblogger.

"Stop getting in my way you FREAK!"

"Says the one dressed like a supervillain from the eighties! Your magenta hair does _not_ work with all the teal in your evil costume!"

I groaned at the Ladyblogger's antics. He's going to get himself killed one of these days if he keeps this up. He seems to be the only one left in the park.

Keeping track of the akuma's beams, I carefully timed my swing and grabbed him. As soon as I landed on a branch, my enhanced reflexes picked up an in-coming beam and made me jump to the next branch while carrying him over my shoulder. I moved from branch to branch, careful not to lead the akuma to the park's exit to contain the attack, going higher and higher.

I eventually reached a safe enough place to perch. While the akuma knows we're here, there are enough branches down below to protect us from her beams. As a bonus, it's high enough that the Ladyblogger couldn't just get down and get too close to film the akuma again.

Speaking of, he hasn't stopped his livestream.

The Ladyblogger's brown hair is in its usual disarray, his light brown skin lightly flushed from dodging the akuma, his clothes had spots of grass stains and dust… Most importantly, there's not a single injury in sight.

He beams a toothpaste commercial-worthy smile as he switches his phone's focus to me.

"Ladybug!" his reddish brown eyes are practically sparkling in excitement. "You're finally here!"

"And you're putting yourself in danger. AGAIN," as if to punctuate my point, a beam shot by right next to us. The branch she shot disappeared and a photo floated down like a leaf.

Down below, the akuma has gone quiet for a few seconds. Hawkmoth.

"You!" the akuma pointed at me. "Hand over your Miraculous!"

"NEVER!" I shouted back. I would never let my cufflinks, my Miraculous, fall into the wrong hands!

The akuma roared in frustration and continued to shoot at us with the accuracy of a temperamental toddler.

I steered my attention back to the Ladyblogger.

"Keagan Gerald Aurelio-Ashworth! How many times do I have to tell you NOT to directly engage akumas?!"

Keagan, or 'Kaji' as I call him when I'm a civilian, had the decency to look sheepish as he bowed his head down, his untameable brown hair flopping down with his mood.

"Sorry, I was just trying to help since Chat Noire's already captured and..."

"What?!" I grabbed Kaji by the shoulders and shook him for answers, "What happened to her?!"

"The akuma, Poppyrazzi, has the power to trap things into pictures with her camera's beams. Chat Noire took a shot for Blake, the target, and well…"

"She ended up like me over here," said a familiar female voice that can only belong to Fiona 'Fuyu' Kuznetsov.

"Sorry Fuyu," Kaji sheepishly apologized as he pulled out a picture from his breast pocket, offering it to me.

I snatched the picture and took a closer look. There stood a petite pale skinned androgynous girl tapping her foot impatiently with her hands on her waist and her big sharp icy blue eyes glaring up at me. She has short light pink hair growing out of its former pixie cut under her red baseball cap. And the shine of her silver headphones and four ear piercings stood out in stark contrast to her black and blue punk outfit.

Other than the fact that she's trapped in a picture, I'm relieved to see she's more or less okay. It seems Fuyu has once again thrown herself between Kaji and an akuma. No wonder Kaji's freely jumping around the battlefield with zero supervision.

"Hey, Ladybug. Could you please make sure this idiot stays out of trouble for me? Thanks," Fuyu snarked from inside the picture.

The akuma has stopped shooting at us and started shouting profanities at us. If she wasn't an akuma and completely unaccountable for her actions, I would've given her a one way ticket to detention.

"Where's Chat Noire?" I asked, focusing back into the original topic.

"Her picture's safe with Blake. I already told him to run," Kaji said.

"Something you should also be doing," Fuyu grumbled from the picture, her cold glare aimed at Kaji.

"Hey, Blake wouldn't even have the chance to run if I hadn't distracted the akuma. Besides, her beams aren't that dangerous, as you can surely attest," Kaji sneered at the picture still in my hand.

"Stupid! I only got hit trying to save your sorry butt! You just _had_ to taunt the raging akuma, did you?"

"You know, you don't have to follow me around akumas…"

"Great," I exasperatedly said as I handed over Fuyu's picture back to Kaji and let them continue their worry-fuelled bickering.

I ignored my two best friend's usual bickering and focused on looking for Blake.

Looking back down, I saw the akuma has given up on us and went back to scouring the park, looking for Blake. From here, I could see the red haired teen model. He's hiding close to the exit, but he's not making a move to leave. At least he's not dancing around the akuma's photo beams like _some people_.

"By the way, the akuma's in her 'Blake Crawford Fan Club' membership card pinned on her chest. Chat Noire managed to put a dent on the camera and no akuma flew out. It's the only other thing on her that stands out," Kaji said, breaking off his argument with the pictured pinkette.

"Thank you," I mean it. While seeing my friend so close to akuma makes me feel like I'm losing a few years of my life every single time, I can't deny that he's actually helpful. It's nice to know he has my back on both sides of the mask. I just wish he could find a way to help without charging right into the akuma's line of fire.

Speaking of the akuma, she still hasn't found Blake, but she's cleared off more things in the park. Blake is running out of places to hide, and she's getting closer to where he's hiding. Why isn't he running?! The exit is practically right next to him!

I spin my yoyo, preparing to ambush the unwitting akuma. Before I jump down on the akuma, I spared one last warning glare towards Kaji. "Before I forget…"

"Kaji, no," Fuyu pre-emptively warned from Kaji's pocket.

Kaji's smile broadened. "Do you need my help?"

"Stay here. Don't you dare try to get down without help," I firmly said before swinging down on the akuma.

"HEY POPPYRAZZI! STOP TRAPPING PEOPLE INTO PICTURES!"

And so the fight begins.

0-0-0-0-0


	2. 0-2 Introduction

**CHAPTER 2: A LESS NORMAL GIRL WITH A SIMILAR SECRET**

"You can't hide from me forever Blake Crawford! You are MINE!" the akuma declared, her camera shooting a beam of pixelated light at a table she assumed Blake to be hiding in. The table vanished in a flash. Another deranged fan turned akuma from the looks of it. Why does Blake always get the trickier akumas after him?

I narrowed my emerald green eyes. I scanned the area from my perch up a bakery building, looking for her target. It wasn't that hard. His crimson hair stands out among the greens and whites.

Blake is hiding behind a statue a few meters right of the akuma, keeping track of her movements in case she turns her back on him and get a chance to run away.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…~" the akuma sang, taking a shot of the tent- one less place to hide for the wanted model.

Blake carefully backed away from the statue and tried to jump behind a tree so he has more places to hide in. As if he had my alleged bad luck, he stepped on a twig that snapped loud enough to catch the akuma's attention.

She aimed her camera at the grove of trees, making them disappear and exposing Blake.

The akuma grinned like she just won the lottery. "There you are!"

Welp. Ready or not, it's time to make my heroic entrance!

"I got you now my beautifully tragic bad bo-"

I threw my baton at her arm, making her shoot a tree instead of the model and cut her villain rant short.

"Who dares get in between me and my true love?!"

I jumped off the building and right into the park. I did a barrel roll in the air and finished with a three point hero landing, claws out ready to scratch.

 _I am one of the heroes of Helios City._

I bit back a hiss when I felt a jolt of pain from my knee. Okay Ladybug, you won that one. If it wasn't for my suit, I'd have a broken leg by now. But that doesn't make 'Superhero Landings' any less awesome.

I stood defiantly at the akuma with my usual smirk and casually caught my baton as it magically flew back towards me. It wouldn't do to let the pain ruin my heroic entrance.

"You know, there are better ways to get a guy's attention.~"

I flipped my wild fiery red mane to demonstrate my point, my other hand on my waist, and my feral emerald green eyes narrowed with mirth. Wearing a full body leather cat suit, matching leather cat ears, belt tail, and a bell around my neck… I sure rock the heroic Catwoman look.

The akuma -a gaudy looking girl with magenta hair, dressed in a black jumpsuit with teal elbow length gloves and knee length boots that end with a pixelated trim, and a chunky teal polaroid camera- turned to me with a glare. Blake took this opportunity to run. I blocked the akuma's path with a swing of my staff just as she was about to go after Blake.

"And you really should know when a guy is just plain uninterested."

I tried for a more playful tone, but I just barely managed to keep the venom out of my voice. The akuma better pray that Ladybug gets here soon, because I'm not sure how long I can hold back.

0-0-0-0-0

The fight dragged on and we kept moving from one place to another, the akuma, Poppyrazzi, was ranting about her goals the whole time- something about getting all the date spots into her picture perfect world or whatever. The closer I get to her, the harder it gets to dodge her beams. And when I managed to get through her guard, I was aiming to hit her in the chest to wind her so I can snatch her camera but she surprisingly blocked my staff with her camera.

My breath hitched when my staff left a dent on the camera. The good news was no akuma went out. I don't know what happens if an akuma flutters away unpurified, but I'm taking Plagg's word for it that it won't be pretty. The bad news was it wasn't damaged enough to stop working as one click later, I'm disarmed.

Poppyrazzi's lips turned up in a satisfied evil grin.

"Give up, Chat Noire! Surrender your Miraculous and I will release everyone I trapped!"

"Hmm…" I pretended to think about it while checking my ring, my Miraculous, like I would check my nails. Trapped, eh? If everything Poppyrazzi zapped has to go somewhere, I bet my Cataclysm could break them out. But I'd rather keep that as a last resort in case either Ladybug needs my Cataclysm for whatever plan he comes up with or I find a way to trap her. Whichever one comes first.

From the corner of my eye, I can vaguely make out that familiar checkered orange shirt followed by a flash of pink hair hovering by the treeline. So Monsieur Ladyblogger and his self-proclaimed bodyguard are here. Better keep the akuma's attention on me.

"No deal," I said with a Cheshire cat grin.

Poppyrazzi's face contorted with fury. She pointed an accusing finger at me.

"You're clearly outmatched! I'll just catch you and bring you to Hawkmoth. Then I'll be able to keep my powers and keep Blake for myself FOREVER!" Poppyrazzi, let out a maniacal laugh.

Typical Hawkmoth. Always picking the melodramatic ones to work for her.

I dodged another photo beam with my cat-like reflexes. This doesn't look good. I'm disarmed, I can't use cataclysm to create a crater big enough to trap her in since I'm keeping an eye out for _three_ teenagers, holding back my urge to claw this akuma's face off is frustrating, getting near her is impossible with her camera so snatching it is out of the question, and even if I did know where the possessed item is, I can't smash it now without Ladybug. I am truly living up to being the unlucky black cat today. Ladybug, where the heck are you?!

As if things couldn't get worse, Blake tripped out of his hiding place.

Blake, what gives? You're not usually this clumsy!

The akuma saw him too and fired her photo beam at him.

Compared to some other akumas, this one's among the less lethal ones. Blake will just be trapped somewhere for a few hours at worst. Once Ladybug finally gets his butt here and purify the akuma, he'll set things back to normal with Miraculous Ladybug.

The logical choice would've been to just let the akuma shoot Blake and keep her within the park until Ladybug gets here. If it were anyone else, that's exactly what I would've done.

But it's Blake.

"Oh no, you don't!" I pushed Blake out of the way and got shot as a result.

0-0-0-0-0

"Sorry you got hit, Chat Noire," Blake apologized from what looks like a screen in an empty white sky. He keeps a good poker face, but judging from how his shoulders are hunched, his skin a shade lighter than its natural sun kissed tone, and the slightest frown on his face, he is far from feeling zen right now.

As it turns out, her beams trap people into Polaroid pictures. It's a good thing Blake had some presence of mind to grab my photo and made a run for it. He found a relatively safe spot to hide in the park while the Ladyblogger and his lady-friend are distracting the akuma.

"It's okay, it's part of the job description," I reassured as best as I can while exploring my sterile white surroundings. I've been walking for a while now but there doesn't seem to be an end to this. No walls, no ceilings, just a white floor and endless nothingness. Not another soul in sight. It's kinda like solitary confinement, minus the confining walls. "Why don't you get out of the park? Find someplace safer."

"Can't…" he curtly said without facing me, emerald green eyes anxiously scanning the park, running his hand through his crimson hair and messing up the sweptback style the hairstylist painstakingly worked on, "…Not until I find-"

A loud crash from behind Blake cuts him off.

" _HEY POPPYRAZZI! STOP TRAPPING PEOPLE INTO PICTURES!"_

Great. My partner's _finally_ here.

"I better get out of here," I scratched the back of my wild fiery red mane in frustration. Looks like I've got no choice. "Cataclysm!"

Power surged up my claws and I pushed it down the white floor. A huge black crack formed, and next thing I knew, I'm back in the real world.

I scanned my surroundings to reorient myself. The photo shoot set is back. There's definitely a lot more people running around the park than there was a few minutes ago. It seems my cataclysm didn't just free myself, but freed everyone and everything the akuma shot. Even my baton made it back!

Just a little further in the park, I can see Ladybug fighting off Poppyrazzi. He's having trouble getting near her with her barrage of photo beams. Poppyrazzi had him stuck playing defence so badly, he couldn't get an attack in without risking getting stuck in a photo.

"Gotta go! Ladybug needs me. Stay safe, Blakey!"

I pulled out my baton and extended it to a quarter staff as I charged towards the battle. I struck low and tripped Poppyrazzi from behind.

"You!" Poppyrazzi glared at me, scrabbling back to her feet.

"The one and only~," I smirked smugly, not taking my eyes off her camera.

"Chat Noire!" Ladybug sounded relieved to see me.

"Let's finish this off, Ladybug," I said, reminding him that the fight's not over yet.

He promptly shifted his intense focus back to the akuma and summoned Lucky Charm. I can practically imagine him scrunching his nose in concentration as he took a few seconds to figure out what to do with whatever random object Lucky Charm gave him.

"Hey Chat Noire, remember that one episode from Tom and Jerry?"

Stealing a glance back at Ladybug, I saw him wrapping his hand with a string from a ladybug patterned ball of yarn.

"I think I can imagine which scene you're talking about. Wanna re-enact it?"

We dashed around the photo shoot set, Ladybug wrapping the yarn around every piece of equipment he can jump over. When he pulled the string taut, and the akuma tripped over it.

She fell with the entire photo shoot set following down after her in every direction. Predictably, she shot at the biggest, most sight-obscuring object first, and that was the tent. She's in for a nasty surprise.

Because of the tent, she didn't see my baton shooting towards her. She couldn't click her camera in time before my baton shattered her camera lens.

Ladybug quickly went over Poppyrazzi, snatched the card and ripped it in two. Without missing a beat, Ladybug caught the akuma and casted Miraculous Ladybug.

Once the magical swarm of ladybugs are done fixing the city, I sauntered over to Ladybug. He was doing his 'pep talk for the akuma of the day' thing again since the people getting paid to do it aren't here yet.

"So no more stalking Blake. It's an invasion of his privacy. Understood?" he said at the end of his scolding. Seeing the girl flinch at his tone, his features softened. "But don't worry, you'll find a guy who'll like you back someday. Just don't force yourself onto guys who are not interested from now on."

He is completely oblivious to the girl's glazed eyes dreamily checking him out, probably only selectively listening the moment he went soft. I roll my eyes. Typical fan girls. Just when I was about to congratulate him on a job well done, someone else beat me to him.

"Ladybug… Have you seen my sister? She was just here…" Blake said, his eyes shifting around in a fruitless search.

Ladybug shifted uneasily while the fan girl, learning her lesson from being akumatized, moved away to give them space. That was when our Miraculous simultaneously let out a warning beep.

"Don't worry Blake, you'll find her soon. Miraculous Ladybug already fixed everything. She should be safe," Ladybug said, as evasively as ever when it came to a certain female model. Sigh…

I quickly perked myself up before I made my way over to Ladybug, pulling him away from the growing crowd where Monsieur Ladyblogger and his pink haired companion are at the front. Ladybug's cheeks were growing flustered, probably from the arriving press. He never got used to the attention.

"We better get going," I cheerfully announced, flashing a smile at the cameras.

"R-right. Please excuse us!" Ladybug said to the crowd with an uneasy smile.

We did our traditional fist bumps before running off. I found a back alley near that same bakery with the _cheese sale_. It's the reason I wasn't at the park with Blake when the akuma got there.

My Miraculous beeped one last time before the magic detransformed me. My fiery red mane smoothed down to a silkier deep crimson fox tail. My feral eyes turned back into a normal human set of emerald green eyes. My leather cat suit changes back into a billowy black blouse, thin white jacket, dark moss green shorts, thigh high black socks, and knee high boots.

"And where's my camembert?" Plagg, my kwami, demanded as soon as he zoomed out of my ring.

"You caused me a lot of trouble today," I lightly chided. It's more of a rant than a scolding really.

"The cheese fondue was calling me. I can't just leave them alone," Plagg whined.

"And why can't I just give you that instead of your smelly camembert?"

"The cheese fondue was great, don't get me wrong. But nothing beats camembert!"

I rolled my eyes knowing I can't win this argument. I tossed him a small slice of his stinky camembert, which he quickly inhaled. Eww. At least that's one less slice of stinky cheese in my purse.

"Now get back in here. I've been gone long enough because of you," I said as I ushered the kwami into my purse.

 _My name is Blair Crawford: Full-time student, part-time teen fashion model. I wouldn't call my life normal, especially now that I'm also a superhero on the side._

As I snuck back into the park, I saw my brother still running around looking for me. Better make my appearance before he grows bald from worry. I grinned when an idea popped into my head.

Right when I was about to surprise him from behind, my phone rang. He turned around with his phone out and an unimpressed look on his face at my foiled prank. He's no fun anymore.

"Sis, where were you?" try as he might, Blake couldn't hide the slight tremble in his voice. At least, not from me. It's a twin thing.

 _This is a secret I can't tell anyone. Not even my only family._

"Chill bro, I was at the bakery. And even if I was caught, I'd just be trapped in a picture. No big deal," I flung my arm around his shoulder –having to stand on the tips of my toes just to reach it, stupid height difference- hoping the casualness would help calm him down. "How about you? The akuma went after you this time. What's our tally? Three to two? Congratulations bro! You're in the lead!"

"That's not something to be proud of," he warned while failing to hide a small smile. "Let's get back to the Liungs'. They'd be worried if we don't show up soon."

And so another day ends.

0-0-0-0-0

* * *

So this is the two-part introduction where the two protagonists get a chapter each. Sorry if the format is a little confusing with the slight time leap back to a few minutes before Ladybug arrived when the last chapter cuts off when Ladybug was in the middle of a fight. I could've streamlined this into one long chapter but I felt that breaking it into two helps juxtapose the two leads better. I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think in the comments section.


	3. 1-1 Love Square

**CHAPTER 3: LADYBLAIR**

 **Blair**

"Come on Blair! Stop resisting my _manly_ charms and date me already!" the akuma yelled while chasing me.

The akuma is a huge hulking giant wearing the tackiest gold chain necklace I've ever seen. He's wearing a pair of pants and steel toed boots and nothing on top to cover his disgusting chest hair and oversized muscles. He's one of the plainer akuma (akumas?) I've ever had to deal with.

This is the third time an akuma went after me and I'm unlucky enough to be in the middle of a photo shoot at the city founder's statue at City Square with no places to hide. I've been running for around twenty minutes now in _heels_! Fashionable torture devices. My feet are definitely going to feel this tomorrow… Oh wait, Miraculous Ladybug can fix this. Such a wonderfully useful power.

"STOP HARASSING A MINOR!" Ladybug yelled from the top of an apartment building. Finally!

He swooped in, grabbed me by the waist, and swung me away to safety.

"How dare you steal my date! Hang in there dollface, for I, Stud Muffin, will get you!"

I rolled my eyes.

The akuma calls himself _Stud Muffin_. Really Hawkmoth?

He thinks of himself as the epitome of manliness in Helios and that no woman can resist his charms. Then he saw me taking a quick break by the café and tried to get me on a date. Ew. No. That guy's like, ten years older than me and definitely not my type. Worst of all…

" _If you reject me, I might turn into an akuma out of sheer disappointment."_

 _I glared back at him, on behalf of anyone who's ever been akumatized. Seeing him flinch gave me a bit of satisfaction, but it's not enough to lessen my anger._

" _I'll take my chances."_

So I promptly rejected him. Predictably, he got akumatized. What I didn't predict was that he got akumatized only _five_ minutes later. Wow. Hawkmoth sure didn't waste time there. It's like she has nothing else to look forward to on her Sundays. I still regret nothing.

The akuma's still chasing us. He's fairly fast, so Ladybug can't just drop me off and risk letting me get captured.

"You scrawny fiend! You think you can just come here and sweep her off her feet?! I was here first! Be a real man and fight me!"

Oh come on! I get shipped enough with him as Chat Noire! Don't start the _LadyBlair_ bandwagon!

Ladybug had a deadpan look on his face. I'm glad to see he shares my sentiments.

"Just WHAT did you do this time?" Ladybug asked with that accusing tone reserved specially for me.

" _Nothing_."

Ladybug shot me a deadpan look.

The akuma made a wild grab for us, nearly grabbing my leg had Ladybug not swung his body up higher to keep away from the akuma's reach. "You don't have to be shy, Blair! Jump into my arms and stop rejecting me!"

"Nothing I regret anyway," I amended my former statement.

"Is it really too much to ask for you to learn to reject people GENTLY?"

"Is it really too much to ask for guys to take my rejection AT ALL?" I mockingly echoed.

"Resist urge to throw her at akuma... Resist urge to throw her at akuma _…_ " Ladybug muttered like a mantra under his breath, as if I couldn't hear him from where I am right now. I chose to be the bigger person and ignore it.

"Could you just put me down and fight him? I'm sure I'll be safe if you leave me on a roof."

As if the akuma is actively trying to foil my plans, he threw a car at us. Ladybug dodged and the car crashed on top of a hopefully empty building. I repeat; Miraculous Ladybug is such a wonderfully useful power.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, _citizen_ ," he scolded, his lips set in a firm line accepting no further arguments.

I frowned. Ladybug readjusted his hold on me and swung his yoyo again to make a sharp turn. I clung to him tighter, feeling very vulnerable without my magical cat suit. I hate playing the damsel in distress. I should be fighting by his side, not be protected by him!

"I can't leave you and risk your safety. Not until Chat Noire gets here and gets the akuma off of us."

How in the world is Chat Noire supposed to distract the akuma if you won't leave her alone to transform?!

Ladybug, while I think it's sweet of you to be concerned about my safety, I'm no damsel in distress! The citizens need you more than I do!

0-0-0-0-0

 **Ladybug**

Chat Noire is taking an awfully long time to get here.

The akuma this time is targeting my classmate. This is the third time this has happened.

Her name is Blair Crawford; one of Helios' most in demand teen models, the girl of most hormonal teenaged boys' dreams, and one of the two new transfer students in our class. She is seated right in front of me on the first row, second column from the right.

She has waist-length deep red hair, and bright emerald green eyes. She has flawless tanned skin and a… rather… uh… curvy figure… which are further emphasized with her billowy blouses, shorts and thigh highs. Okay, I'll admit, she's very attractive and I tend to look at her a lot, which is very difficult not to do when she's sitting right in front of me in class. But that doesn't stop me from finding her suspicious!

From what I've heard from her equally photogenic twin and reputed bad boy Blake, they transferred to our school because of their sponsor deal or something like that. They live with their foster mother, Erin Liung, who also happens to be their manager, and her son, Vincent Liung, after the twins' parents died years ago. Beyond that, there aren't much relevant details I can find in the magazines. I did not need to know how many guys she used to date or her three sizes, thank you very much.

Unlike most people who have been targeted by an akuma, Blair doesn't even seem fazed.

The first time, she did a very sarcastic parody of a damsel in distress, before throwing her lunch at the akuma and running away.

The second time, she was much less merciful. She kicked the poor akuma in every man's weakness and grumpily walked away.

Since the akuma this time is ridiculously strong, she can't just do either. She's helpless. And yet she's rolling her eyes as if the akuma is just another unworthy suitor she can step on. I find that suspicious.

I am tempted to just leave her be and let her test her luck with the akuma. If my suspicions are correct, then that shouldn't be a problem for her.

But I can't do that. What if I'm wrong about her?

"OWWWCH!" Stud Muffin –ugh, Hawkmoth, why?- screamed in pain.

"Chat Noire?" I looked back, hoping to see a glimpse of my partner. But the black cat was nowhere in sight.

The akuma stopped running and had his hands on his face. What just happened?

"This is your chance, Ladybug! Go get him!" Blair urged.

Huh? Wait, why is she barefoot?

I looked back at where the akuma is still wailing and spotted a pair of very expensive looking heels scattered on the sidewalk.

Did she just throw her heels at the akuma?!

I put her down on the nearest roof and ordered her to stay hidden until it's safe.

With or without Chat Noire, I'm a hero. I can't fail to do my job just because she isn't here. I don't want to let her and everyone else down.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Blair**

Ladybug quickly dropped me off a nearby building's roof before swinging back to the akuma.

Finally! He left me alone!

"You know, the fight's practically over. Why bother?" said Plagg.

I frowned. "He needs us. Besides, I don't think a little heel to the eye is going to keep the akuma distracted for long."

A few meters away, Stud Muffin's already recovered and is trying to crush Ladybug. The ringing of sirens and the ever familiar sound of property damage were dead giveaways.

"Plagg! Claws out!"

Plagg grumbled something about overeager chosens as he got sucked into my ring and transformed me.

0-0-0-0-0

After taking care of Stud Muffin and fixing the city, we congratulated each other with a fist bump until Ladybug suddenly seemed to remember something.

He walked past me and picked up a pair of heels.

 _My_ heels.

"Oh right, I left the civilian at that rooftop! I have to get her down from there. Better return these while I'm at it," before I can tell him an excuse to 'leave Blair alone', he had his yoyo out. "Please, take care of the akuma victim for me! Thaaaanks!" he said as he swung away.

"ARGH! STUPID! CARING! SAFETY OBSESSED! BUG!" I yelled to no one in particular before going after Ladybug to beat him to where Blair is supposed to be, completely ignoring the pedo and left him to the care of the EMT guys.

0-0-0-0-0

When I got there, Ladybug was already worriedly swinging around the building frantically searching for me. When he was at the other side, I jumped in through the fire exit and de-transformed. I made my way back to the rooftop and waved over Ladybug.

"Where were you?!" he reprimanded as soon as he landed.

"I was hiding, just like you said," I coolly replied, already used to having the superhero scolding me.

"Oh. Okay. Uh," he awkwardly fuddled about before regaining his composure and coldly handed over my heels. "And these are yours."

"Thanks," I grabbed his upper arm for balance as I hastily slipped them back on.

Ladybug flinched on contact but kept quiet and made no move other than folding his arms close to his chest. Then I heard his Miraculous beep as a reminder of his impending transformation.

"Are you gonna bring me down now or should I just take the stairs?"

0-0-0-0-0

Being the gentleman that he is, he even swung me to the nearest bus stop before running off to hide his identity.

When I was finally alone, I dropped the polite model smile.

"Still upset that Ladybug's giving you the cold shoulder?" Plagg teased from my purse.

I rolled my eyes and pushed his head back in before anyone can see. We may be alone for now, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful in public places such as these.

"He'll come around," I said, more for myself than for Plagg to hear.

"Why do you care so much about his opinions on you anyway? Don't you hate being shipped with him?" Plagg asked, tearing open the camembert's wrapper.

"I may not like him that way, but he's still my partner. I want us to be the best heroes we could be, and our relationship should not get in the way of that."

My phone rang.

Seeing it as a signal to stop talking, Plagg popped his head back into my purse to gobble up what's left of today's camembert.

I fished my phone out of my pocket and checked the caller ID. It was a call from my manager-slash-legal guardian, Mrs Liung.

"Hel-"

" _{Oh thank God you finally picked up! Are you alright?}"_ Mrs Liung said in a sharp tone that demands answers.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired, but _fine_ ," I looked down at my feet. The blisters I got from running are gone now. "And even if I wasn't, Miraculous Ladybug heals everything."

" _{Don't say things like that,}"_ now she's in 'Dragon Lady' mode. It's that mode that allows her to get contracts under her terms and forces others to agree to anything she says. I both admire and fear that about her. _"{That won't stop us from worrying-}"_

She turned her phone away from her to focus on whoever is with her. There were mutters on her end. I could still pick out most of her words.

" _{Yes, son, she said she's okay. Huh? You want to- If you insist.}"_

There was some slight shuffling on the other end, before Mrs Liung was replaced with Vincent.

" _{Little sister!}"_

I cringed at his term of endearment for me, but I didn't correct him. It'll only lead to a crying session… Rather, an even bigger crying session than he's already having right now.

" _{I was so worried about you! Why didn't you get into the car when I told you to?!}"_

'Because you'll make it impossible for me to find a nice little hiding place to transform into Chat Noire' is what I wanted to say. "Because he'll go after you too," is what I said instead.

It's not a lie. He's the son of the woman who took me and my brother in when we had nowhere to go. We owe them big time, and I'd rather they stay safe during akuma attacks.

" _{Blair, I'm touched and all, but I'd rather you not put yourself in danger for me, especially when it's not necessary. We could've both been safe if you just went in the car.}"_

I didn't reply to that. It's getting harder and harder to make excuses around the Liungs. They even bought a car after the Poppyrazzi incident so my twin and I can have an escape vehicle (not that I plan to ever make use of it).

" _{Can you tell me where you are? I'll give you a ride home. We can even stop by that ice cream shop on the way.}"_

It's not even a question of whether or not I want a ride. But that wouldn't stop me from treating it like one.

"No need. I can get back on my own. Thanks anyway."

I hung up before the Liungs could insist. As touching as their concern is, they have a tendency to overdo things and be annoyingly pushy about it. It's best to decline as early as possible before Mrs Liung's Dragon Lady mode makes me cave in.

My phone rang again. I growled at their persistence.

"I said I'm _FINE_!"

" _{… Liungs got to you first?}"_

Hearing my twin on the phone rather than the Liungs, I instantly calmed down.

"Yep."

Blake let out an exasperated sigh.

Once again, he's trying to hide how worried he really is, but now he's got more incentive thanks to my already annoyed mood.

" _{I know they can be overbearing, but they mean well,}"_ Blake said, knowing me well enough to know what I was thinking.

"I know. It's just that… We're already imposing on them when they let us live with them, and I don't want to-"

" _{-owe them any more than we already do?}"_ Blake finished my sentence.

A smile made its way to my face. It's nice to know someone understands.

"Yep."

I can imagine him shaking his head thinking 'What are we gonna do about the overbearing Liungs?'.

"… So, today, we're at a draw," I said, changing the topic to something a lot less serious. "Wanna bet on which one of us will get chased by an akuma next?"

" _{Blair, don't jinx us.}"_

I snickered to myself. If only he knew…

"It can't be helped bro."

A bus stopped by, cutting our conversation short.

"I better go, talk to you later."

With a click, the call ended and I hopped onto the bus. I took the nearest window seat and watched the city as the bus drove by. With no one else calling me, I finally got a good look at my phone. My eyes bulged when I saw the notifications.

 _37 Missed Calls._

 _24 Messages._

 _All within the span of around thirty minutes._

 _All from the same three culprits._

The akuma today really made them worry, huh? I made a mental note to stop by the convenience store and get them something for desert. They need the comfort food more than I do.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Shizuke**

I detransformed behind a doughnut shop next to city square. Tikki quickly hid in my bag and we started to make our way back home.

"This was the third time Blair has been targeted," I worriedly told Tikki while taking out my phone.

"Yes it is," Tikki said, just loud enough for only me to hear. "But don't you think you're jumping to conclusions about this?"

"Tikki, have you seen the way she acts whenever there's an akuma? Usually, the minute one comes up, she's nowhere to be found. During the times when her brother was targeted, she didn't show up even though, according to Kaji, she's supposed to be the 'overprotective twin'. And whenever she's targeted, she acts like she's in control," I told Tikki my sound reasoning for my theory as I updated my chart on the latest akuma attack.

 _Stud Muffin_

 _Real Name: xxxxx xxxxxxxx_

 _Duration: Approx. 35 minutes_

 _Date: January xx, xxxx, Sunday_

 _Akuma Item: Golden chain necklace_

 _Goal: To get Blair Crawford to go on a date with him_

"Maybe she's just smart enough to avoid akuma attacks when she can. Maybe she just trusts that you and Chat Noire can handle the situation so she doesn't panic when an akuma goes after her. Besides, didn't she help with distracting the akuma a few minutes ago?" Tikki reasoned.

"It could be a ploy to get me to lower my guard around her. I find it unnerving that she seems too confident in the face of danger. Like she's not worried about her safety at all," I argued.

Tikki gave up arguing with me and went back to munching on her stash of cookies in my bag. But I know she'll be right back at it sooner or later. I continued typing away on my phone. While I find it a bit trickier to type the intel and align the lines just right on my phone than on my desktop, it's always handy to have my chart on hand.

 _Location Notes:_

 _Announced his presence at xxx, 3:28pm._

 _Defeated and purified at xxxx, 4:04pm._

I labelled the areas on my chart's map and traced the lines between the two areas.

Then I marked a third area.

 _Blair Crawford had a photo shoot at the City Square, 1pm-3:30pm._

It was right next to where the akuma appeared.

"This couldn't be a coincidence," I muttered to myself.

"I still think you're jumping to conclusions, Shizuke. Why don't you try to get to know her better instead of theorizing things about her behind her back?" Tikki suggested. She never gives up trying to see the good in people, which is why she never stops arguing with me about this.

"But what if I'm right about her?"

"What if you're wrong?"

"Tikki, I can't take my chances with this..." I looked around to make sure no one was listening in on me, before I continued in a more hushed tone. "She might be Hawkmoth."

For some reason, Tikki went back to her cookies and furiously stuffed her face with them like an angry chipmunk.

0-0-0-0-0


	4. 1-2 Love Square

**CHAPTER 4: SHIZUBLAIR**

 **Shizuke**

"Keagan Gerald Aurelio-Ashworth," called our homeroom teacher, Mr. Ross.

"Sir, yes sir!" Kaji said with a cheerful salute from the leftmost side of the front row.

Our orange haired teacher fondly rolled his eyes Kaji's antics and indulged his student by saluting him back before he continued checking attendance.

"Blair Crawford."

"Here," said the red haired girl seated right in front of me.

"Blake Crawford," the teacher continued listing off names, but I was no longer paying attention.

I trained my eyes on her, watching her every move. She's taking out a piece of paper, and a pen. She asks Kaji, who she shares a desk with, if she can borrow his book which he happily lent her. She pushes a strand of her dark red hair back behind her ear. She takes a few notes from the book. She hums to herself as she procrastinated on today's homework. So I guess I can cross out 'using her looks to charm nerds into doing her homework for her' off her list of evil deeds.

At first glance, she seems like a normal albeit famous and ridiculously attractive girl. But I know better. She knows more than she's letting on.

The way she acted with the akuma just yesterday was suspicious. To her, it just seemed like a minor inconvenience when the akuma went after her. Like she had everything under control and that I was being a nuisance for saving her.

That just reignited my suspicions. It's done nothing but build up since the day she first came to school.

I warned my friends, partially because she could be a dangerous mastermind and I want my friends to be prepared, partially because Fuyu found my magazine clippings of Blair – which I am keeping PURELY for INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSES – and I wanted to clear out any misunderstandings.

"Fiona Kuznetsov," Mr. Ross called, bringing me out of my thoughts just before I was called.

Fuyu quietly raised her hand next to me.

"Shizuke Midorikawa."

"Present," I nodded at the teacher before looking back at the girl I was staring at.

The girl must've sensed that I was staring so intently at her earlier for she turned around at me with the most innocently clueless look in the world… before it shifted into a mischievous grin and winked at me.

I shuddered and looked away, folding my arms over my chest to keep the Miraculous away from her prying eyes. I find it disturbing that my 'maybe-mortal-enemy' seems to be interested in me. This has been going on for two weeks. Does she know? I hope not.

As tempting as it is to confront her, I have to follow the 'innocent until proven guilty' rule and do nothing for now. Especially since Tikki is warning me on the chance that I am wrong. If it turns out that she isn't Hawkmoth, then it's a good thing I listened to Tikki.

That still begs the question though…

Why is she after me?

0-0-0-0-0

 **Blair**

Okay, this classmate of mine is so amusing. And I've made it my life goal to get closer to him.

His name is Shizuke Midorikawa. He's the loud nerd with thick glasses, and weird bluish black hair sitting right behind me. He's also the school's self-appointed hall monitor, and totally looks the part with his neatly ironed button up shirt and sweater vest combo he likes to wear. He's actually fairly handsome if you don't mind his nerdy get up.

When we first met, well, he kinda hates me. I already apologized to him and his friends for our tactless first meeting after Blake told me off about it. Keagan and I are on much better terms, no hard feelings. But Shizuke and Fiona are still a little stingy about it. Especially Shizuke. Geez. It's been four months already! Lighten up!

He's staring at me again. Unlike most boys, it's not because I'm eye candy. Get this- He thinks I'M Hawkmoth! I crack up whenever I think about the irony! Okay, I'm only laughing about it NOW after I got over the absurdity of it. But that's not why I'm after him.

So, how do I know he thinks I'm Hawkmoth? Why am I even trying to befriend him?

0-0-0-0-0

It happened two weeks ago after a lunch time attack from an akuma when I heard his crazy theory.

Ladybug was being more gung-ho than usual so we finished up the akuma in record time, and I am very grateful that I didn't have to skip lunch after all. I decided to eat a quick lunch at that bakery across the street from the akuma attack. That's when I spotted Shizuke with his usual band of friends.

This was odd coming from 'Mr. Perfect Attendance'. The bakery was a few blocks away from school. Surely Shizuke wouldn't go all the way out here to risk being late for class over a croissant. Which is why I did the only logical thing anyone would do: Spy on them.

I took a seat in a dark corner two tables away from them, my back turned on them. From what I can tell, Shizuke is seated facing away from me with Keagan and Fiona taking the two seats across from him. I plugged my earphones into my ears so I can pretend to be listening to music and not eavesdropping on them. I can still hear them clearly thanks to my enhanced hearing.

"So you think Blair could be Hawkmoth?" Keagan asked incredulously.

Whuuut.

"It's just a theory, but I think it's plausible. Think about it. Blair was absent on the first day…" he faltered a little at the mention of that horrible day. Those three are still shaken up about that. "Then in the evening, Hawkmoth made her appearance. And the morning after, Blair finally made it to school. Then in the afternoon, just a few minutes before the heroes made their announcement at City Square, I heard Blair say _'I've got a speech to crash'_. Guess what happened next? Hawkmoth crashed the heroes' speech! If Hawkmoth had to be someone in our class, I think it would be Blair."

"That does make sense," Fiona agreed.

Whut whut.

Okay, I'll admit that that was a freaky coincidence. Technically, Chat Noire crashed the speech too but everyone just assumed she was in on it from the start. Ladybug just planned the speech without me, and I decided to join him at the last minute. It's not my fault Hawkmoth had the same idea.

But more importantly, is the Miraculous' glamour THAT strong for them not to notice anything off about that theory?! I mean, I get that it must be strong in my case since my civilian face is plastered all over the city. I even grilled Plagg about it. While the glamour does filter people's perceptions about a Miraculous wielder's secret identity, it does nothing to hide the wielder's transformed appearance. Shizuke. Fiona. Open your eyes. I look NOTHING like a middle aged woman!

"Shizu, the whole 'I've got a speech to crash' thing could just be one big coincidence. She could've just decided at the last minute to watch Ladybug's announcement and has been somewhere in City Square, completely ignored in the crowd because everyone else was too busy looking at the heroes and the swarm of creepy butterflies Hawkmoth sent. And do you need to get your glasses checked? I saw _Hawkmoth_ with my own eyes!" Keagan growled the villainess's name. "I'm pretty sure she's too old to be Blair. Her 'Office-Lady-From-Hell' aesthetic doesn't fit Blair's style either."

Finally! Someone who gets it! Hawkmoth shouldn't be compared to me at all!

"But what if the Miraculous changed her appearance for anonymity? What if it's the glamour playing tricks with our eyes?" Shizuke defended.

Blair, stay strong. Don't smash your beautiful face into the table. You still need your face for work.

"Hmm… Maybe I should add that to the things I should ask the heroic duo the next time I interview them," Keagan's voice drifted off and I can hear him typing on his phone.

Shizuke, for a few seconds, seemed to have given up arguing.

"Kaji, I am saying this as a concerned friend. You are way too obsessed with the heroes," Fiona warned.

Shizuke choked on his drink.

"Jealous?" I can practically imagine Keagan wiggling his eye brows suggestively as he leaned closer to Fiona.

"No," Fiona shot back. "I'm just saying that your spandex fetish is getting out of hand."

"They are kinda hot."

I heard more choking noises from Shizuke. What a pure cinnamon roll.

"Don't worry, Shizu. I'm not after either of them. I ship them too and I am not about to break my best bud's OTP," Keagan comforted.

Shizuke sighed, sounding honestly relieved.

Ugh… LadyNoire shippers. Why are you everywhere?!

"What else made you suspect Blair?" asked Fiona, dragging them back to their original topic.

Shizuke took this moment to compose himself before continuing his lecture of 'why Blair is probably Hawkmoth'.

"There's also the fact that she seems to know a lot about Hawkmoth's powers before the heroes made their public speech. She knew about Hawkmoth's ability to create monsters, to… _to control free will_."

"Coincidence," Keagan stated after a brief pause, sounding composed but detached. "Years ago, there was a vigilante who has the ability to temporarily turn people into superheroes. Aunt Vera used to work for the man in charge of investigating the vigilantes spotted around the city at that time. And do you know who Aunt Vera's boss was? Blair's father, Inspector Crawford."

My heart sunk at the name. It's been years since my parents died…

"I'm sure you can imagine the many ways Blair could've learned about the butterfly's powers without having them herself," Keagan finished.

"… Okay fine. How about I approach this at a different angle?" Shizuke shifted in his seat. I did my best to take a peek without completely turning my head to them. This should be good.

Keagan and Fiona crowded closer, waiting in anticipation.

"Lately, I observed that more than 50% of the akuma attacks have been happening near our school," Shizuke pulled out his phone and showed them what I'm guessing is a map full of markings of where akuma attacks have happened. "The yellow dots are where they made their presence known, likely not too far from where their transformation happened. The blue dots are where they were defeated and purified."

"And the red dots?" asked Keagan.

"Are places where the twins, especially Blair, had their photo shoots."

What a stalker! And I thought KEAGAN was the stalker of their group.

"Are you sure you don't just have a huge stalker-ish crush on Blair?" Fiona accused with her cold blue eyes staring holes into Shizuke. "It would explain all those-"

At that, Shizuke sputtered and pushed himself up from his chair by slamming his hands on the table.

"N-N-NO! THAT'S NOT WHY I HAVE THEM AND YOU KNOW THAT!" he yelled while wildly waving his hands in denial. His voice actually cracked. Noticing that every other customer at the bakery was staring at them, he gestured apologetically and sat back down. In a more hushed voice, he continued, "I just notice that more often than not, wherever they have a photo shoot someone nearby gets akumatized."

Huh. No wonder I often get to the akuma before Ladybug. I'm pretty sure the people who got akumatized over Blake and I made a significant fraction of Shizuke's observations. I now blame them for causing Shizuke's conspiracy theory.

"Not to mention that at least a quarter of the photo shoots that Blair claims to be taking didn't really happen. I've checked her schedule. Her absences doesn't line up with it. You know what does? Akuma attacks!"

Shizuke's outburst didn't get a reaction out of Fiona beyond narrowing her icy blue eyes at him and asking, "Just _how_ do you know the twins' shooting schedules?"

I leaned a little closer, curious to know just how much of a creeper Shizuke is. Mom always said that looks could be deceiving. Who knows what an inconspicuous nerd like Shizuke could be hiding under his goody-two-shoes façade?

Shizuke crosses his arms defensively and huffed. "I'm not literally stalking them if that's what you're implying. I would never sink that low," he said, sounding indignant. He started waving his arms around as if gesturing could somehow help with explanation. "I simply follow their foster brother on Facebook. He runs a page keeping track of the twins' work for advertisement."

Fiona stared at him for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh, "You're not lying. Good."

… So he's not a total creeper. He's just a Facebook stalker. That's a relief.

"Back to the subject, notice how close most of the red dots are to the yellow dots? It's alarmingly frequent," Shizuke pushes his phone into Keagan and Fiona's faces.

His two friends took a closer look at the map.

"Shizu, assuming Blair IS Hawkmoth, not that I believe that for a second, why would she send akuma after her and her twin? She's been directly targeted twice. And just a week ago was the third time Blake was targeted," Keagan said.

"I think she's trying to get close to the heroes," Shizuke said.

"Once is a risky gambit. Twice is retarded when it didn't work the first time, and a complete waste considering she didn't even stick around for the heroes to save her that time. If you'd talk to her for ten minutes, you'd know how overprotective she is of her brother. She'd never endanger him of all people! Much less do it thrice."

Keagan, you are the best. I swear.

"Do these dots have dates and times on them?" interrupted Fiona, who was still examining the map. Keagan and Shizuke seemed to have a silent agreement to not argue about me any further.

Shizuke adjusted his glasses, ready to go back into lecture mode.

"Click on them, and you'll see the notes I added in every dot. The akuma, date, time, real identity, even the akumatized item. I listed them all based on the info I got from various news feeds, the Akuma Victims Protection Society, and the Ladyblog. I have all the yellow and blue dots connected based on their respective akuma, with the red dots depending on whether or not the twins' photo shoot is nearby when that happens. Of course, I had the lines hidden right now so the map wouldn't look too messy but click on a dot and the lines that connect them should show up."

Okay. This dude just put the CSI to shame. I am officially impressed.

"Shizu, I mean this as a compliment. You are the GOD of stalkers," Fiona declared.

Keagan is practically drooling at the treasure chest of info Shizuke is presenting him. "Shizuke Midorikawa, you are a mad genius. May I post a copy of this on my blog?"

Shizuke pulls his phone closer to him, suddenly unwilling to show his chart to his friends. "Didn't your father made it illegal to expose the akuma's civilian name in public media?"

"Yes. That's why I'm going to filter it so the civilian names don't show. I'll even edit some of the possessed items to make it even vaguer. So?" Keagan holds out his hand to Shizuke, making 'gimme that' gestures. "May I?"

As expected from the number one advocate of that law. What a daddy's boy.

"Sorry, I can't let you do that. I don't want Hawkmoth to find out that someone is recording her every move. Or that I'm investigating her secret identity," he smoothly excused. I rolled my eyes. If you still believe it's me, then you are way off your mark, Four-Eyes. "Wouldn't want anyone targeting me and my phone."

"Good point," Keagan gloomily relented. "It would've been really helpful if the heroes know about this, but your own safety is more important."

"Look who's talking. You just cried over missing the akuma earlier," Fiona fired off, starting their usual banter about Keagan's dangerous new hobby all over again.

Worry not, Monsieur Ladyblogger. Chat Noire will get her claws on that map.

0-0-0-0-0

And that is why I find myself here, winking at my stalker. I am after some really juicy information, and he's the only way to get it. It's for the greater good. Ladybug and Chat Noire will one day send him a proper 'thank you' for his efforts in stalking everyone.

A quick glance across the lane to my right, my twin brother is giving me weird looks before shrugging it off.

Behind me, I can hear Shizuke scrambling to get his composure back. As usual, once the lesson starts, he ignores me completely and it'll take until lunch break before I can start trying to befriend him again.

Okay, I'll admit, I'm having way too much fun at his reactions to my attempts at befriending him. It's so amusing how easy it is to get him flustered. Kinda reminds me of Ladybug actually. Hm… Wonder how he'll react if he finds out I'm actually Chat Noire? I bet it's gonna be hilarious!

For some reason, I can hear Plagg muttering from inside my bag about oblivious kittens.

0-0-0-0-0

 **BONUS SCENE: SHIZUKE'S NOTP, KAJICHAT**

 **Shizuke**

"Kaji, I am saying this as a concerned friend. You are way too obsessed with the heroes," Fuyu warned.

I nearly choked on my drink.

Kaji leaned closer to Fuyu, his eyebrows wiggling in amusement. "Jealous?"

"No," Fuyu flatly said while pushing his face away, her cheeks lightly tinged pink. "I'm just saying that your spandex fetish is getting out of hand."

This is an awkward topic I wish my friends will stop periodically picking up. Ever since the Miraculous happened, Kaji's been obsessing over the heroes… And may or may not be harbouring a celebrity crush on me- or worse, _Chat Noire_.

I tried to calm myself down by drinking more of my iced green tea…

"They are kinda hot."

That sentence sent me into a choking frenzy with my tea nearly going up my nose. But my breathing difficulties could wait. My mind's going on overdrive with the crisis at hand.

KAJI! PLEASE DON'T DEVELOP A CRUSH ON EITHER OF US! IT WOULDN'T END WELL!

With Ladybug, it will make our friendship awkward! As much as I care about Kaji, I can never see him that way. I just can't. He's like a brother to me! And I like to believe he sees me the same way. If he ever finds out I'm Ladybug… I shudder at the thought. I don't want to ruin our wonderful friendship over this.

With Chat Noire, it's even worse. He'll be my love rival, which would definitely put a strain on our friendship. If there's anyone in this city who could impress Chat Noire, it would be Kaji. I wouldn't stand a chance! Outside of being Ladybug, I don't have much going for me.

Kaji on the other hand is Helios' most eligible bachelor! He's effortlessly smart and handsome with charisma to match- the Ladyblog's view count can attest to that. He's the mayor's son, mind-bogglingly rich, not to mention he lives in a literal castle overlooking the city. He's like a modern day prince charming! I can see it now…

" _Oh Chat Noire, you're so brave, strong, and gorgeous- Truly a diamond among women!" Kaji grabbed Chat Noire's clawed hand and bowed down to plant a kiss on it, like a prince out of a fairy tale. "Will you do me the honor of being my princess?"_

 _Chat Noire swooned, a deep red blush coloring her tan cheeks. "Of course, Monsieur Ladyblogger! There's no one in this city I'd rather be with than you.~"_

 _Kaji squealed in excitement when Chat Noire picked him up in a princess carry._

" _Now where should we go on our first date, my prince?~"_

" _Anywhere you dream, my princess," Kaji wrapped his arms around Chat Noire's neck, leaning close to her until they were nose to nose. "Wherever your heart desires.~"_

" _Oh my prince!~" Chat Noire purred. "I'm so happy that I chose you over the unreliable pest in polka dots!"_

 _Together, the new couple laughed as Chat Noire jumped from roof to roof towards their dream date. Their laughter echoed mockingly long after their silhouettes disappeared into the sunset._

 _And I watched on from behind them, forgotten and unloved, surrounded by my twenty cats who could never quite fill the void the two of them tore from my broken heart. I was not crying. That was just the cats' saliva staining my cheeks where they licked me. No, I don't need tissues Fuyu! Stop looking at me with those pitying eyes!_

My daytime nightmare ended when I felt someone rubbing my back, trying to ease my coughing fit. My eyes blurry with tears from nearly choking to death, I looked up to see it was Kaji.

"Don't worry, Shizu," he comforted. "I'm not after either of them. I ship them too and I am not about to break my best bud's OTP."

Phew… Crisis averted.

I can only hope it stays that way. Kaji can have any other girl or guy he wants and I'll support him all the way, just please leave Chat Noire alone…

"What else made you suspect Blair?" asked Fuyu, thankfully changing the topic to something less stressful.

0-0-0-0-0


	5. 1-3 Love Square

**CHAPTER 5: SHIZUCHAT**

 **Blair**

As soon as the bell for dismissal rang, I turned over to Keagan. I wonder what he has to say about the latest akuma attack, starring moi.

"Blair, you were awesome yesterday!" he said, pulling out his phone to show the part where I threw my heels at the akuma. "Nice aim by the way."

I have to agree, I was pretty cool for a damsel in distress. I took the phone from Keagan and made it play the video from the start.

Shizuke and Fiona stopped packing their bags and leaned down to look at the video.

"Must be tough being a famous model," Fiona commented, eyes narrowing at Stud Muffin announcing his goals. "Having crazy admirers turn into supervillains on a monthly basis doesn't sound like a lot of fun."

"Nah, Blake has it worse. His fan girls are usually much faster, and come with weirder powers," I said, remembering Poppyrazzi and her photo blasts. Getting hit with brute strength is definitely easier to handle than getting trapped in a picture.

"They're still dangerous," Shizuke pointed out, intently watching the video where Stud Muffin was lifting the car he was about to throw at Ladybug. His glasses gleamed as he fixed it.

" _{You scrawny fiend! You think you can just come here and sweep her off her feet?! I was here first! Be a real man and fight me!}"_

Shizuke and I cringed when the car flew and hit the building instead of Ladybug. I am once again reminded of the wonders of Miraculous Ladybug.

Fiona on the other hand shot an icy glare at Keagan who just shrugged it off. After four months, their arguments about Keagan's safety have become practically telepathic and they no longer need words to know what the other is going to say. Either that or it's because they're childhood friends and know each other well enough.

And now the video's playing at the part where I threw my heels at Stud Muffin's eyes. Fiona whistled, amusement flickering in her eyes.

"Gotta give the girl some props, Shizu," she said, nudging her friend by the shoulder. "Girl's got guts."

Wow. That's the nicest thing she's ever said about me. Well, she doesn't say much about me in general, but she doesn't throw compliments at me before either.

Keagan was giving me a knowing look along with his infamous 'shipping grin'. Oh no, don't-

"You know Blair, if I didn't already ship LadyNoire, I would've shipped Ladybug with you instead," he teased.

I try not to give him the evil eye. Instead, I smiled like the professional model I am.

"Ah, but there's a risk to dating a superhero that I'm just not willing to take. I wouldn't want to be seen as the perfect hostage for the akuma to target and force Ladybug to give up his Miraculous for me."

"But you're forgetting that you're a very badass damsel and have proven that you can handle yourself," Keagan mockingly argued.

"Shh! Chat Noire showed up!" Shizuke shushed us up without tearing his eyes off the video.

" _{So I heard you like redheads}," Chat Noire smirked as she made her entrance after deflecting a hit meant for Ladybug with her staff._

Shizuke was leaning on his desk to get a closer look. I can practically feel his breathing over my shoulder. His eyes were practically sparkling through his glasses, and his cheeks were lightly tinted pink as he stared at the black cat heroine.

I moved the phone in my hand to the left. His head turned to the left.

I moved the phone in my hand to the right. His head turned to the right.

I raised a brow at that.

Keagan is holding back a snicker. Fiona is shaking her head with an amused smile. I raised my brow at them, tilting my head to the nerd, hoping for an explanation.

"Shizu has a huge celebrity crush on Chat Noire," Keagan whispered.

"He thinks he's being low-key about it, but almost everybody knows by now," Fiona added.

"What if he hears?" I hissed, glancing between the three and praying Shizuke doesn't hear us.

"As long as Chat Noire is on screen, he won't be hearing anyone. He only gives that kind of attention to teachers when they're discussing lessons. There is no way we can distract him until the video ends," Keagan explained.

" _{ARGH! STUPID! CARING! SAFETY OBSESSED! BUG!}"_

I heard my heroic alterego yell loudly from the phone and looked back at the video. Both of the heroes have left the scene and the ex-villain was hidden behind the squad of parameds. The video finishes off with Keagan's ending remarks.

The Keagan sitting next to me had a very smug grin plastered on his face.

"So Shizu, did you enjoy the little LadyNoire at the end?" he said while casually taking back his phone from my hands.

Shizuke nearly jumped out of his chair and quickly turned his head towards Keagan so fast, I'm surprised he didn't break his neck. The flustered nerd shakily adjusted his glasses, realizing he had been in a trance. "W-what?"

Keagan's smug grin evolved into his standard 'shipping grin'.

Blair. Stay calm. Don't slap Keagan.

"A lot of viewers at the Ladyblog were squealing about how Chat Noire sounded like she was a little jealous when Ladybug left her to look for a certain teen model."

Curse you Monsieur Ladyblogger!

Strangely enough, Shizuke looks even more flustered. Not a single hint of jealousy. In fact, he looks pretty happy for a guy whose best friend is openly shipping his crush with another dude. Is the bro code truly dead?

"Really?" Shizuke actually looked hopeful when he asked this.

"Some commenters love to point out how she sounds like a tsundere," Keagan started before going off on his shipping theories.

My phone buzzed in my bag. Ignoring Keagan's shipping talk, I read the message…

It's from Keagan.

How he manages to discreetly text on his smartphone while fanboying with Shizuke right in front of me, I will never know.

 _Yes, he still has a huge crush on Chat Noire._

 _Yes, he also ships LadyNoire and is the shadow lord captain of the ship._

 _Don't ask me why or how. He won't tell me. He'll just deny it._

 _I think it's because he thinks he doesn't have a chance so he ships Chat Noire with who he thinks is best for her, which is Ladybug._

Oh. If that's the case, then what if a certain cat pays him a visit? Maybe he'll be more willing to give away a copy of his chart if it was his crush asking for it.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Shizuke**

I was just about to get ready for bed after moving around the yellow tulips I'm helping my grandmother grow on my balcony when an unexpected visitor arrived. Tikki had just enough time to warn me and fly out of sight before Chat Noire dropped in.

"Good evening citizen! Just your friendly neighbourhood kitty dropping by for a visit!" my partner greeted, balanced on my balcony railing. She grinned smugly as she eyed me from head to toe. "Nice PJ's. The bunnies are cute."

I chose the wrong day to wear my light blue pyjamas with the pink rabbits. I suppose it's still better than being caught in the black ones with the neon green paw prints. Chat Noire doesn't need any more teasing material.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" I yelped.

Chat Noire doesn't even look fazed by my outburst. She cutely tilted her head to the side and asked, "Why? Aren't you happy to see me?"

There is no way that I'm not blushing at this point. I slapped myself in the face just to make sure I'm not dreaming.

Ouch. That hurt. Chat Noire's still on my balcony. I'm not dreaming this. This is actually happening!

"It's not that I'm not happy to see you, it's just that this is the first time I have a superhero dropping by on my balcony- not that I'm opposed to it- I've always dreamed of meeting you like-"

Whoa! Too much information! Stop rambling!

"- I mean, yes I'm happy to see you!" I squeaked. Then I realized what I said and nearly fainted from mortification.

Why is this so hard? I don't have this problem when I'm 'Ladybug'! I should get a conversation going, move on from my slip up. But what to talk about? Think think think…

"Oh wait, I haven't introduced myself! Ahahaha… where are my manners?! My name's Shizuke Midorikawa! Age 15, born on May 4th! Blood Type O! And I uh…" I realized I just spazzed and told her my entire profile like a crazy person.

Chat Noire is laughing at me. It's a cute laugh…

Where is an akuma when you need one?! Please! Somebody throw a car at me!

"Are you gonna let me in?" Chat Noire asked with an amused grin.

I numbly opened the door and let her in first. The only saving grace is the fact that I always keep my room clean and organized.

My bed sat at a corner of my room, not a single wrinkle on its pristine white sheets. My wooden study desk where my desktop sat was cleared of any clutter and my extra reference books are arranged in alphabetical order on the shelf above it. My closet full of freshly ironed hand-me-downs is closed and there's not a single article of clothing in sight. All my magazine clippings of Blair and that cork board and red yarn I use to piece together evidence of her moonlighting as Hawkmoth are all safely hidden under my bed. Wouldn't want her getting the wrong idea like Fuyu did. I can only wish she doesn't notice my Ladybug and Chat Noire poster taped securely above my bed.

My grandmother has already gone to bed after a long day of tending her flower shop below our apartment, so as long as we stay quiet _enough_ , she wouldn't even know Chat Noire was here.

"Your room must get plenty of sunshine in the morning, huh?" she commented, looking around my mint green room. Her smug grin widened when she saw the poster.

A girl is in _my room_.

 _Chat Noire_ is in my room.

 _The love of my life is in my room!_

"Well, my room is on the same side of the building as my grandmother's flower shop downstairs and the flowers could use all the sunshine they can ge-" I stopped mid ramble when my brain finally caught up to what should be the biggest point of concern in the room. "Wait, why are you here again?"

Oh thank goodness my mind hasn't completely turned to mush. Of course she has a reason for being here. This can't be a casual fan visit. I've been her partner for a little more than four months. I should know that Chat Noire doesn't do anything this risky without a reason. She may be vain and cocky, but she's also efficient and deliberate with her actions. This girl will get the job done no matter what.

… I've… learned that the hard way.

"Ooh, clever boy," she snickered as she sauntered over my desktop, and twirled a black flashdrive around her claw. "I heard you've got a record of all of the akuma attacks."

"How did you-"

"Not important," the smirk on her face hasn't left, but the tone of her voice sounded all business. "Do you mind giving me a copy? I'll autograph your pencil case if you want.~"

Of all the people in this city, Chat Noire is the one I should share this info with...

"Yes, I do mind."

Chat Noire flailed indignantly at my flat rejection. I'll admit, it's kinda cute to watch her composure crumble.

"Why?!"

Because I can't give you a reason to keep visiting _me_! I know your line of thinking. First, you'll ask me for a copy of my chart. After a few more akuma show up, you'll ask for an updated copy. Then you'll ask me to add more details or if I've noticed any new patterns recently. 'Shizuke Midorikawa' will become your go-to guy for information. The cycle will just go on and on and on until either Hawkmoth is defeated or Hawkmoth gets wise and notices how often a certain black cat visits a certain apartme-"

I froze mid-rant, suddenly realizing that at some point, my INTERNAL monologue became my EXTERNAL dialogue.

"Ooh, that's a great idea! You know, I was just gonna ask for a copy thinking I could figure something out of it, but you're onto something there… How about you become our informant? If you're worried about the danger, I'll be extra careful to protect you. I'm sure Ladybug would be thrilled to meet you!"

… Did I just give her that idea?! I face-palmed at my own stupidity… And stopped myself from face-palming again because it hurts to do so with my glasses on. This whole thing is stupid!

Chat Noire randomly visits me in the middle of the night to ask me for a copy of my akuma chart. Then she tries to recruit _ME_ to be her and _LADYBUG_ 's info broker. And now she's talking about how well Ladybug and I would get along! What is even happening here?!

This complication could've been avoided if she knew who I am! But of course, she isn't ready for a reveal and as her loyal partner I intend to follow through with her decision to the bitter end!

"Hey now, what's with that face?"

I peeked between my fingers and saw that she's moved from my desktop two meters away to just a few centimeters right in front of me. Why Chat Noire?! Why must you lack the concept of personal space?!

"What face?" I grimaced behind my hand, which I haven't moved to cover my surely red cheeks.

Chat Noire pouted and pointed to my face, the very tip of her claw nearly touching my nose.

" _That_ face. Shouldn't you be more excited?" she tilted her head in curiosity.

I removed my hand from my face and fixed my glasses to properly face her.

"No I'm not. This will just get me on Hawkmoth's hit list, I just know it!"

Her smirk wavered. Chat Noire is starting to get frustrated with my stubbornness. Her feral green eyes are practically glowing like fire.

"But this is your chance to help! Don't you wanna be a hero?"

Chat Noire, you have no idea how much that question haunts me since day one. And every time I ask myself that, I can only come up with one answer:

"… I just want my family and friends to stay safe."

Her cat ears drooped down and the fire in her eyes dimmed to something gentler. Was that pity? Or maybe it was sympathy?

"Oh. If you're that worried about getting targeted for this, I can promise you that Ladybug and I can keep them safe."

We've seen what Hawkmoth can do. She won't hesitate to hurt children to get our Miraculous. I don't know what I'd do if she targets my family and friends. I'm sure I can count on Chat Noire but I can't just keep depending on her. What if she's not strong enough for the both of us? I don't know if I'm strong enough to...

"Even with _Ladybug_ 's help, I doubt you can protect us all," I still remember the first akuma… Kaji's screams… the fear in Fuyu's eyes… I clench my fists to stop myself from shaking at the memory. I promised myself to never let that happen again. "Besides, this chart probably doesn't have anything that you don't already know."

I would've told Chat Noire about the chart myself, as Ladybug of course, if I actually did found something useful! But until I have irrefutable evidence that Blair is Hawkmoth, I wouldn't want to point Chat Noire her way. Chat Noire can be scary brutal when she thinks it's necessary for the greater good.

While I'm mostly sure that Blair is Hawkmoth, there's still a small chance that she isn't. Tikki never fails to remind me of that. Kaji didn't believe me at all when I told him. I wouldn't want to lead Chat Noire the wrong way.

"But…" she tried to argue, but I refuse to hear the rest of it.

"I hope you understand. This isn't a risk I'm willing to take. I wouldn't want Hawkmoth to see me as the perfect hostage."

The words felt somewhat familiar, but I'm not quite sure where I heard it before. Chat Noire's face hardens. Then suddenly softens into a mischievous grin.

Oh no.

"You'll be doing Helios a favour by helping the heroes out with this info," she pleaded. With _kitten eyes_. She tilts her head, raises her paws in a begging position, and pouts. "Can you pleeeeease give it to me?" she drawled.

She's so adorable!

WHY?! WHY ME?!

There's only one thing I can do…

"GRANDMA!" I screamed as I ran out the door and towards my grandmother's room, just across from mine.

I did not look back, not even when Chat Noire made shrieking noises that sounded exactly like an actual startled cat's, nor when I heard the sounds of books falling pots breaking on my creaky wooden floor. I hastily knocked on the door to my grandmother's bedroom, not daring to look back in case Chat Noire's retreat was just a ruse.

Soon enough, my grandmother opened the door and I was fortunate enough to have Ladybug's enhanced reflexes to dodge her cane. Wow, grandmother swings that cane well for an old lady with a limp leg.

"AKUMA?!" she looked as pale as a ghost while sweating puddles through her black pinstriped yukata. Her bony hands were shakily gripping her wooden cane in a defensive position, and her blue-ish white hair was in disarray.

Yikes, I must've scared her.

"Uuh, no. I just had a nightmare, ahaha…"

Grandmother immediately shifted from looking ready to whack someone with her cane to her normal look of stern righteous fury.

"That's it?"

I stiffly nodded. "… Can I sleep in your room tonight?"

Grandmother levelled me with a look that says 'I don't believe you'.

"We'll have a talk about this tomorrow. GOOD NIGHT."

Too tired to properly discipline me for rudely awakening her, she settled on slamming the door on my face.

"She's gone now," Tikki said, flying out of her hiding place from somewhere in my room. "I can no longer sense her."

"Hmm… I think I'll just sleep in the couch tonight."

I'm sure I'll get a stern lecture tomorrow morning, but it's worth it. I'd rather face my angry grandmother than a cutely begging Chat Noire.

"For what it's worth, I think you did a good job today."

Yeah, I did a splendid job today.

I stopped Chat Noire from recruiting 'Shizuke Midorikawa'.

I didn't break down when I was practically telling her what I'm afraid of.

I didn't let her know I'm 'Ladybug'.

"Thanks Tikki," I whispered as I settled on the couch and waited for sleep to settle in.

" _Miraculous! Simply the best! Up to the test when things go wrong!~"_

I heard my phone ring from my room, singing the alarm I've set specifically for the Ladyblog. I can already guess what it's about. I better mentally prepare for tomorrow.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Blair**

"I almost had him!" I screamed into my pillow. I kicked around my purple comforter to let out more of my pent up frustration.

Plagg, being the bottomless well of support that he is, took out a round of camembert to munch on. The nasty smell did nothing to improve my mood.

"Mad that your seduction skills didn't work?" he said in between chewing, perched on top of my mini fridge I bought for the sole purpose of stashing his disgusting magic fuel that I refuse to acknowledge as cheese.

I looked over my shoulder and leered at the flying black cat as drops of camembert flew out of his mouth and onto my gray woollen carpet.

"Pulling an adorable 'Puss-in-Boots-stare' hardly counts as 'seduction'."

On a normal day, Shizuke is amusing. But today, he was difficult. No, more than that, he was _aggravating_.

Two weeks of trying to befriend him as 'Blair' did nothing to ease his humorously mistaken suspicions and let me borrow his phone so I can send myself a copy that chart. The 'exchanging numbers' excuse is moot since Shizuke-The-Amazing-Crazy-Prepared-Class-Prez has exchanged numbers with everyone in class the day he got elected. I'm not even gonna try to tell him straight up that I'm not Hawkmoth because that's exactly what the real Hawkmoth would say. I can't tell him that I just wanted a copy of his top secret chart; I'll look even more suspicious if I know. Snatching his phone isn't even an option. His guard goes up whenever I get too close to him.

It felt like a battle of wills between us, and after two weeks, he's proven himself to be my most difficult opponent yet. Since when were teenaged boys immune to my charm? Most guys would be wrapped around my finger by now!

But then it turns out he's not completely immune after all. Learning about his crush on 'Chat Noire', I thought: Why not take the short cut?

This was supposed to be a cinch! Use his already existent infatuation towards 'Chat Noire' to persuade him into giving me a copy. But nope! For some reason, he refuses to cooperate. I already reassured him of his safety.

" _Even with Ladybug's help, I doubt you can protect us all," he firmly said, like nothing I can say could change his mind. He may seem calm, but I can tell he's afraid by how tightly he closed his shaking fists._

I barely managed to hold my temper at that. Just the memory of it still angers me. It's like he's underestimating us. That look of fear in his face said it all. He doesn't believe Ladybug and I can protect him along with everyone else.

" _The heroes will get her one day. I believe in that."_

I remembered what he said the day after Ladybug and I failed to capture Hawkmoth… It felt like so long ago. He used to have so much faith in us. What happened?

"His chart doesn't even sound like it'd have anything you don't already know," said Plagg, cutting through my thoughts. Having finished his roll of camembert, he licked his paws clean of the disgusting stuff.

"But he may have noticed patterns that neither I nor Ladybug have. A fresh outsider's perspective could be useful."

Plagg floated over to my bed and stretched contentedly like a real cat on my other pillow by my side. "Why didn't you just steal it? You had the perfect chance while he was having dinner with his grandma."

I scoffed, the very idea offends me. I have no plans on following the archetype Catwoman has set for feline heroines. "It's one thing for 'Blair' to snatch a classmate's phone for a few minutes; it's another thing for 'Chat Noire' to break into a civilian's house just to steal his phone. I'd rather keep that option as a last resort."

"Just give it up. This is too much trouble for what it's worth. If you're so eager, why don't you just make your own chart?"

Now that's a first. Plagg can be sensible sometimes.

"That's a reasonable suggestion Plagg… Except, I don't even know the names of most of the victims. I hardly remember the exact times when they happened. Heck, I don't even remember the dates of the batch of akuma on the second month, because that's when akuma attacks started to feel like the norm around here-"

"Then leave it at that. It's not worth all the fuss you're making because of it."

"Plagg, Shizuke's chart may help track down Hawkmoth, or find a pattern to help us predict the next possible victim!"

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Just focus on dealing with what's in front of you. Whatever Hawkmoth throws at you now will always be more important than what she might throw at you next week."

I stared at the god of destruction with amazement at his rare 'words of wisdom'. It's easy to forget that Plagg has been alive for thousands of years. I should've expected him to know the right things to say to cut through my logic after dealing with tons of charges in his immortal life. I slump my head down my pillow to smother an unwelcomed laugh at being caught off guard.

"I hate it when you say something smart and I can't come up with a witty comeback."

I don't need to look to know Plagg heard me anyway and was grinning like the cat that got the cream. Or, more appropriately in his case, the kwami that got the camembert. Eww.

"I've dealt with ambitious villain types like her before. She'll make another grand appearance sooner or later. So just relax and focus on keeping up my camembert supply until then."

And then he ruins it, like the smug little twerp he is.

"Of course. We're gonna need all the energy we can get for the epic final battle," I played along. He has a point though, I'll give him that.

"Exactly."

There was a moment of peaceful silence. Such a rare thing ever since Plagg came along.

Plagg suddenly grins. I should've known it was too good to last.

"You know, that Shizuke kid just used your own words against you in the most roundabout way possible."

"What do you…"

And then it clicked.

" _Ah, but there's a risk to dating a superhero that I'm just not willing to take. I wouldn't want to be seen as the perfect hostage for the akuma to target and force Ladybug to give up his Miraculous for me."_

" _I hope you understand. This isn't a risk I'm willing to take. I wouldn't want Hawkmoth to see me as the perfect hostage."_

… Oh, right. No wonder that sounded familiar.

"You can basically sum up all his arguments against being your informant with what you just told Keagan about 'LadyBlair'," Plagg snickered.

"Thank you for pointing that out, Plagg," I darkly muttered as I slumped into my bed.

I heard my phone ring by my side. I checked what it was about. I groaned into my pillow at the latest post on the Ladyblog:

 _Chat Noire Patrolling Alone: Ladybug Not Spotted!_

It's official. The universe hates me.

0-0-0-0-0


	6. 1-4 Love Square

**CHAPTER 6: LADYNOIRE**

 **Blair**

It was no surprise that I wasn't able to concentrate at school at all the next day. How can I?

After that stunt I pulled last night, I can only wish that it wouldn't reach Ladybug. It would've been fine if I managed to convince Shizuke to give me a copy of that chart, but nope! Times like these, I wish I didn't have enhanced hearing. Ladybug isn't known for being merciful to people's ears. And that's not even the worst case scenario.

Shizuke is sitting right behind me. He's glaring at me as usual, being awfully chipper for someone who was definitely up past his bed time. His glasses couldn't hide the dark circles around his eyes. But that's not concerning. What I'm really worried about is if he tells Keagan about last night.

"You look out of it," Keagan told me as soon as the bells for dismissal rang. His eyes are narrowed like he's trying to collect clues as to why I'm not at peak beauty.

"I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all. I'll be fine after a quick nap…"

"If you say so," Keagan said sounding unconvinced.

As I sleepily gathered my things, he turned right behind us to Shizuke and Fiona.

"Have you heard of the Chat Noire sightings last night?"

Crud. That jolted my half-asleep brain.

"What's that about?" asked Fiona.

"People posted on the Ladyblog about Chat Noire running around the city last night, but there was no sight of Ladybug."

Double crud. Now I'm sure Ladybug would know by the time we have our usual patrols. Let me just kiss my sense of hearing goodbye.

"What could she be running around for?" asked Shizuke in a tone too stiff for the casual question, his eyes so intensely focused on Keagan's his glasses are practically glowing.

… You're not gonna tell your BFF?

Fiona gave Shizuke a long hard stare, also noticing how weird it is that her nerd friend isn't fan boying. Thankfully, she kept quiet about it.

"I have no idea…" Keagan glumly said, too busy staring at his phone to notice how Shizuke is acting more stiff than usual.

"Maybe she's just doing extra patrols but didn't want to bother Ladybug," Shizuke suggested, sounding like he's reading off a script and failing to add his usual passion to his words.

Keagan furrowed his brows at Shizuke and then he sighed, his shoulders slumping down in defeat.

"… Maybe you're right," Keagan hesitantly agreed, either he miraculously didn't notice his friend's bad acting, or just didn't care because what he said had solid logic. "Ugh… And I thought I had a scoop just now! An extra patrol night doesn't sound like it's worth posting an article about."

Shizuke Midorikawa, I could almost kiss you right now. You have no idea how you just helped me save face!

Now all I have to worry about is Ladybug at patrol tomorrow.

0-0-0-0-0

Shizuke

I've been pacing from one side of my room to the other in the past hour, mentally debating with myself on whether or not this is a good idea.

"What are you thinking about?" Tikki asked, floating by my side. Maybe a second opinion would be for the best.

"I was wondering if it's alright to tell Chat Noire who I really am."

"Shizuke, you know it's for your own safety why you can't tell her…"

"I know, but after what happened last night, I just thought it might be safer if she knew."

"Last night could just be a one-time thing. Just tell Chat Noire not to visit civilians like that anymore. I'm sure she'll understand," Tikki insisted.

"It's not just that, Tikki. She _knew_ about my akuma chart. I've only told Kaji and Fuyu about it once, back in the bakery two weeks ago. That's the most likely time she could've learned about it that I can think of."

"Shizuke, please carefully think this through…"

"What are the odds that she would be in the very same bakery as I was that day?"

"Well, you two did just take down an akuma nearby. Maybe she just ate lunch there for convenience. It could just be a coincidence."

"And she knows where I _LIVE_!"

"… Okay, that is a bit concerning," Tikki reluctantly agreed, but I was already on a roll.

"What if we know each other as civilians? Who could she possibly be? She seems to be around my age… Maybe we go to the same school together!" I gasped at where this line of logic is leading me. "What if we're in the same class?!"

The possibilities flooded into my head. It was so overwhelming. To think, Chat Noire could be so close… Wait, is it just me, or is the air getting thinner around here?

Tikki zipped up and bopped me on the nose to get my attention. She flew off to a more respectable distance, her tiny arms waving gently. "Calm down! Breathe with me! Breathe in…" she floated up. "Breathe out…" she floated down.

I followed her orders and breathed in time with her floating up and down. After calming down, I reanalysed the facts and decided that the odds of her being a classmate is slimmer than none. We've been doing this for almost an entire semester. I'm sure we would've noticed each other's disappearance during akuma attacks at this point. Even if the glamour prevents us from recognizing each other, it would be ridiculous if we don't notice anything if we're that close to each other every day.

"Better?" Tikki asked, still looking over me worriedly with big blue eyes and her antennas bobbing down.

"Yeah, thanks," I said, tiredly sitting down on my bed to continue telling Tikki my thoughts and explain my idea in a calmer way. I'd rather do this with Tikki's approval.

"Tikki, I just want you to know that I understand the dangers of telling people my secret. I always wanted to tell Kaji and Fuyu but-"

"You can't."

"They won't take it well. I know that more than anyone… They'll feel strongly about this and Hawkmoth will surely take advantage of them."

"Fiona's already not taking Keagan's Ladyblogging well as it is. What more if she finds out you're jumping at akumas too?"

That thought made me shudder. Imagine: an akumatized Fuyu. She's guaranteed to be one of the strongest akuma, and what's worse, she'll be directly targeting _me_.

"That's why I listened to you and hid my double life from them."

Tikki hovered over my face and nuzzled my cheek.

"I know it's hard for you to keep secrets from them. You're honest to a fault."

"Or I'm just bad at lying. One whole night of practicing my lies to Kaji earlier and I still just _barely_ managed it."

Tikki giggled at my attempt at humor. I laughed with her.

"That too. But it's for their own safety and I'm proud of you for keeping it a secret."

I fell back on my bed. The poster I taped on the ceiling stared back at me. I taped it up there in the early days of being Ladybug as a reminder that I didn't just dream up a weird fantasy. It was a poster of Ladybug and Chat Noire, standing side by side as the proud heroes of the city. My pulse raced at just the sight of my partner.

Tikki floated up to block my view.

"But this isn't about them," Tikki said, bringing us back to the original topic.

"Chat Noire is different from them," I said. "It's not just because we're both living double lives. Chat Noire is more even-tempered than Kaji and Fuyu, and she can keep a level head in almost any situation."

"And you think she's the best person to trust?"

"Who better? If anyone's going to take my secret well, it would be her."

"I think it may be too soon."

"We've been a team for a little over four months. I think it's about time. If she still wants my akuma chart, it'll be easier for me to hand it over to her without worrying about giving away my secret identity by accident. This can even help make Ladybug and Chat Noire's connection to our civilian identities even more invisible since meetings like the one I, as Shizuke, just had with Chat Noire would no longer happen. If we need to talk about anything, we'll just talk hero to hero, or civilian to civilian. Hawkmoth would be less likely to draw connections if we keep our hero identities as far away from our civilian identities as possible."

"I suppose you have a point there… Are you sure those are your only reasons for this?" Tikki pried with narrowed blue eyes, her tiny arms on her waist like a mother trying to get her children to admit they ate cookies before dinner.

"… Fine. I also think this is a good chance to get to know her better… And maybe we can hang out instead of only meeting during akuma attacks and patrols…" I can feel my cheeks heating up at the idea. I can just imagine it: the two of us going around the city, watching movies, playing at arcades, eating ice cream…

Tikki shook her head. "Shizuke, if you're going to do this, you better set your priorities in order. It shouldn't be about improving your chances with your crush. It should be about whether it would be safer for you to keep hiding your identities or to tell each other now so you don't accidentally give yourselves away at a more crucial time."

What Tikki said felt like a rush of cold water splashed all over me. My pulse slowed and my face felt less heated than earlier. With all the conviction I can muster, I said, "That won't be a problem Tikki. Chat Noire is too important to me. Her safety matters more to me than a chance to get closer to her. You have my word."

0-0-0-0-0

 **Chat Noire**

It's Wednesday night. One of our patrol days.

I nervously wait for Ladybug to arrive at our usual starting point, at the top of the hundred year old tree at Lucia Park.

I heard the familiar zipping of a yoyo chord a few seconds before I saw a red spotted yoyo wraps itself around a tree branch.

Okay, just as I planned. If Ladybug asks about the Chat Noire sightings two nights ago, I'll tell him I was just stretching my legs with extra patrols. This should be easy.

He started talking as soon as his feet touched the ground. "Hey Chat Noire! I wanted to talk to you about…"

"I'm sorry for badgering a citizen!"

… And that just slipped out. Ugh! He hasn't even asked me yet!

"W-what?"

I run my hand through my wild red hair and looked away from my partner.

I can keep secrets from him, and drag him into my schemes without telling him first… but I just can't lie to his face! Never really could, outside of keeping my secret identity. He just has that effect on me. Kinda like Blake.

"Look, Ladybug. I can explain."

"Explain what?"

And so I went and hurriedly explained what happened. The chart, the fan visit, the less than graceful exit…

"I promise I did NOT break into his house, hack his computer, or steal his stuff! I swear! Cat's honour!" I was panting by the end of my explanation. I looked away from him, scared of what he's going to say about this.

More than a loud scolding, I'm more scared of losing that heroic image he has of me. Ruining our partnership is the worst case scenario.

"It's okay."

I looked back up to him. There was a tentative smile on his face as he awkwardly patted my shoulder. It was enough to calm me down.

"Maybe you could go and apologize to him someday. I'm sure he'll forgive you. Just don't go visiting him like that again anytime soon so you don't accidentally turn him into a target."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God…"

Just when I thought I was out of the woods, he asked, "How DID you know about his record of akuma attacks?"

"Uhh…"

"If he wanted people to know about it, he would've posted it on the Ladyblog. It's a very public site where anyone could've submitted stuff to Keagan," he pressed, trying too hard to sound casual about it. "How did you know about it?"

"… Let's just say I was there when he was explaining his chart to his friends. I can't tell you any more than that."

"Ooh, okay then..."

Times like these remind me of why he's my most trusted partner. He doesn't pry if it makes me uncomfortable. He puts so much trust in me.

That's why I just can't do anything to break that trust, like lie or break into my classmate's house to steal his info. He deserves better than that… Aaand I'll get an even bigger scolding if he finds out. One of the downsides of having enhanced hearing is that I have a loudmouth of a partner who is prone to scolding at the top of his lungs.

"… Uhm… Chat Noire, have you ever considered revealing ourselves to each other?"

… Oh crud.

Well, at least he asked first. But my decision against it still stands.

"No. Ladybug, no."

"But-"

"Let's just start patrol. Later Bugsy!" I said, vaulting out of the tree and onto the nearest building.

But Ladybug didn't drop the topic.

What's gotten into him?!

"I think we should put more thought into this before we decide whether or not this would be a bad idea!" Ladybug negotiated.

"No!" I yelled back, not caring what for he had to say. I have my reasons.

"I've thought this through, and there's so many benefits if we do! I'll enumerate it for you!"

"No!"

"It'll strengthen our bond!"

"No!"

"It'll make contacting each other easier!"

"No!"

"We can spar together without anyone bothering us!"

"No!"

"No more running away from each other when we our time runs out!"

"No!"

"We can share hiding spots!"

"No!"

"Fans won't mob us if we go and get ice cream together as civilians!"

"No!"

Why is he being persistent?! If only I could just shut a door on him or end hang up on him...

"… Don't you trust me?"

If it weren't for my enhanced hearing, I wouldn't have heard him.

I stopped by the top of the department store's building and waited for him to catch up. As soon as I heard him land, I settled a firm gaze at him.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Ladybug… It's just that, I'm afraid of what this will do to our partnership."

For reasons I don't know, he just doesn't like me behind the mask. He's colder around me as Blair, and has never called me by name. Considering the kind of person Ladybug is there's a really good chance that his strange aloofness towards Blair will definitely affect our teamwork, try as he might to not let it show.

"Well, sure, we'll end up cooperating more outside the mask so there's definitely going to be changes, and-" he tried to insist, but I cut him off.

"And then there's the people I live with to think about. They'd be suspicious if I suddenly started hanging out with some guy I've just met."

Blake would surely notice if I start hanging out with a guy out of the blue. He might even get suspicious. He can't know about my double life! And that's not even mentioning the Liungs. If those two ever see me spending a lot of time with a guy who isn't Blake… Let's just say, it'll be like living with two _Keagans_.

Ladybug faltered. "… Oh, right… I didn't think about that…"

"Besides, I'm not even sure if our civilian selves could meet that much anyway."

As a part time model, I spend most of my free time either catching up on homework or doing photo shoots. The only free time I do have, I spend it to patrol at night, like right now. It's why we came up with a flexible patrol schedule. Outside akuma attacks, our civilian lives come first.

"And then there's the possibility of being akumatized. We don't know for sure if we could get akumatized but just in case we do, then at least we don't know each other as a civilian. We won't be able to rat each other out to Hawkmoth."

Plagg was being annoyingly evasive when I asked him about this. Since he refuses to give me a straight answer, then I'm just gonna assume that it is possible. It's possible that having a Miraculous helps us resist getting akumatized because we have kwamis to give us an outlet to vent out negative emotions. Even a kwami as annoying as Plagg can do that.

"I trust you Ladybug. It's just that, with the things going on when I'm not Chat Noire, and all the other risks, I don't think now is the right time. We're still learning the ropes, and the cons still outweigh the pros. I'd rather not take my chances for now."

Ladybug slumped down in defeat.

"… Okay. I understand. I'm sorry for being pushy about it."

The rest of the patrol went on with silence. We both had quite a week, and it's only Wednesday.

0-0-0-0-0

"Plagg, did I do the right thing?"

"Kid, you know I don't really care if you reveal who you are to _him_ or not."

Patrol has ended and Plagg and I are back in my room.

"I know. It's just… Why was he suddenly so persistent to reveal ourselves? Ladybug never brought this up before. Didn't his kwami warn him about the dangers of revealing our identities to each other?" I paced from one side of my room to the other with one hand tapping my chin and the other held close to me. "Did something happen? Did I do something? What if…"

Plagg rolled his eyes and unwrapped another slice of camembert. "If it was something important, Ladybug wouldn't have dropped it as quickly as he did."

"But…"

"Ladybug is a big boy. Whatever his reasons, he can handle it."

Maybe he could. But there's still one more thing gnawing at me: My reasons for wanting to keep my identity a secret. It's true that I also want my family and the Liungs to stay safe, and make sure my identity stays hidden from Hawkmoth… But when it comes to Ladybug, the biggest motivator for me to keep my secret is…

"I just don't want him to stop looking at me like a hero. And with his coldness to Blair, I'm afraid he'll stop if he knew. Plagg, am I being selfish?"

Plagg stopped eating his camembert and looked at me like I've grown two heads.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

He bursts out laughing.

I pouted in annoyance.

"I'd be completely lying if I told you you're not, Miss I-need-my-beautiful-face-for-money!"

I narrowed my eyes to further emphasize my annoyance.

"But you're improving."

"Really Plagg?"

"Really. You actually care about that noisy bug. It's a step up from how you started."

I was expecting the black cat to ruin the moment any second after that, but he never did. He just continued to noisily eat his camembert. I smiled at that thought as I drifted off to sleep.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Shizuke**

After patrol, I made my way into my room. I automatically caught Tikki and went over to my cookie jar. Sensing my mood, Tikki flew out of my hands and over to my head, patting it gently.

"It's okay Shizuke…"

That's all she can really say that wouldn't come off as a variation of 'I told you so'. She only barely agreed to the reveal because of all the reasons I've laid out. Her only condition was to ask Chat Noire first, which was something I would've done anyway.

"It's not like I wasn't expecting this."

"To be fair, your strongest argument involves Chat Noire's unexpected visit that night. You can't use that without revealing yourself before she agrees to a reveal."

Right. It all boiled down to that, which was why Tikki agreed to this at all.

"I know that she isn't exactly thrilled with the idea from the start, but I thought if I could just tell her my side of things, maybe she'd see the benefits of a reveal… I didn't even consider how it would look strange if two virtual strangers suddenly started hanging out."

"I'm sure the two of you would've figured something out eventually," Tikki encouraged.

"And then there's her family potentially noticing it. I don't have that problem with both of my parents working overseas and my grandmother being busy with her shop."

"Well, most kids your age have parents that wouldn't mind if their kids get a new friend out of the blue as long as the friend doesn't seem like a bad influence. Don't feel too bad if you didn't consider that."

I petted Tikki's head to show how I appreciate her attempts to cheer me up. While I know that she would rather we keep our identities a secret from each other, it's nice to know that Tikki is still as supportive and as encouraging as ever.

"I wasn't expecting much out of revealing ourselves besides a closer friendship and convenience."

There's this part of me that is head-over-heels for her that did hope that this may help my chances with her… But the more rational part of me nagged that a person as amazing as her is probably way out of my league, even without the mask, and that I should be content with a better friendship.

"All I was really thinking was how much easier things could be if we revealed ourselves to each other. I just can't stand hiding things from people. Having Chat Noire know would've lightened that burden. I didn't think much about how Chat Noire would've felt or the risks I'm asking her to take. All I was thinking of was how convenient it would've been for me… Tikki, am I selfish?"

"Well, you have your moments… While you were being pushy, at least you asked her about it first and respected her decision to not to."

"Thanks for being honest."

And I mean it. At least I still have Tikki and I'll always be grateful for her presence. I'm not sure how I would've handled all of this hero stuff without her.

"The two of you are just not ready yet. Just give it more time Shizuke."

0-0-0-0-0


	7. 1-5 Love Square

**CHAPTER 7: A CONCERNED BROTHER'S REACTION TO THE LOVE SQUARE**

Note: The LadyNoire portion is set much earlier in the school year. The rest is set in the background of the past four chapters.

Blake

This is the story of how I fell into shipping hell.

0-0-0-0-0

{LADYNOIRE}

It was a rainy Saturday night, and what better way to spend it than waste away in my room and rot my eyes off by spending hours on the internet? Like everyone else living in this city, my search history is filled with searches for the new heroes... But lately, finding the topics about them that I want has been getting harder and harder to find.

When I typed ' _Ladybug and Chat Noire teamwork'_ , I was hoping for pages talking about their awesome teamwork, how they balance each other and cover their weaknesses. Instead, I got a flood of pages talking about their chemistry and how compatible they are together.

When I tried to be more specific and typed ' _Ladybug and Chat Noire fighting well together_ ', I got pages about people arguing on which one of them is more likely to die for the other.

When I gave up and typed ' _Ladybug and Chat Noire_ ', hoping a general topic would help me find something about them other than their relationship, all I got were endless posts of people speculating a possible romance between them.

"What're you searching for?"

"What are you doing in my room?" I spun my chair to face my twin sister, who was laying stomach first on my bed reading something.

"I was bored," she rolled herself over so she was lying on her back. "And so what if I'm in your room? We used to share a room all the time," she swung her legs up before she flipped herself off my bed.

I rolled my eyes at her attempts to evade my question. "Does this have something to do with the weird smell in your room? You better not be trying to spread it here."

Seriously, her room has been smelling awfully funky lately and I hope my room doesn't start smelling like hers soon.

She stiffened for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, before she groaned in mock defeat.

"Fine. I came for your comics!" she said as she waved what she had been reading earlier, which turned out to be one of my issues of Spider-Man.

"What did I tell you about buying your own comics?" I said in a stern tone and folded my arms across my chest. Those comics are limited editions and should be handled with utmost care!

"The same thing I told you whenever I catch you playing with my action figures, to which you'd reply, ' _why buy my own when I can borrow yours for free?_ '," she grinned smugly, "Great life philosophy, bro. Wise words I now live by."

My brain failed to give me an answer that wouldn't make me sound like a hypocrite so I chose to shut up. I should've known she'd use that against me some day.

Blair stretched her arms up carelessly in the air as she walked over to me and my desktop and looked over my shoulder to read my latest web searches.

"Why are you searching for _LadyNoire_?" she said, full of disdain as she spat the word.

"Lady-what?" I asked, annoyance temporarily forgotten.

" _LadyNoire_ ," her nose scrunched in irritation. "It's what people call the 'romantic relationship between Ladybug and Chat Noire' these days."

"The what now?"

"Exactly bro. People are crazy. Their relationship is purely platonic!" she finished her vent with a face-first flop to my bed.

"I don't know sis. Pretty sure Ladybug has a crush on Chat Noire."

Thinking about the bug hero, he does get flustered around the cat heroine when they're not busy fighting akuma. It's as clear as day whenever the Ladyblogger interviews them. He looks at her like she hung the flipping moon or some romantic stuff like that.

"No. He just looks up to her because she's super cool."

Honestly, I think that's part of the reason for his crush on her. But being the older and wiser twin, I know when an argument is moot so I chose to just hum in agreement rather than continue fighting her on this. If Blair wants to believe there's nothing romantic between the two heroes, fine by me.

Personally, I think they'd make a good couple, but whatever their relationship is, it's their business. It's their life and I have nothing to do with it. Aside from being rescued from rabid akumatized fans every month, I have no connection to them. We are complete strangers. Whatever happens between them, it won't affect me in any way, shape or form. I wouldn't be bummed if they don't end up together.

Frankly, I'm more interested in finding out _who_ they really are behind the mask. Things like how old they are, where they go to school, hobbies … And most importantly, _how_ they got their powers. But that's a thought for another day. I opened another tab and decided to search for movie reviews, giving up on my hero research for the day.

Blair stayed quiet for the rest of the night and continued to roll around my bed while taking out more of my comics. Anything I say about her getting her own stuff went completely ignored.

When it was getting late, she rolled off my bed to stretch. She let out a big yawn and made her way to my door, not bothering at all to clean up the mess of comic books she made- aside from Spider-Man, there's Batman, Catwoman, Beast Boy, Black Panther, Antman, Black Cat, Mockingbird, Black Widow… What's with all the animal themed heroes?

Before she left my room, she gave me an ominous warning.

"Blake, you're so innocent when it comes to the horrible world of shipping. Please stay that way and don't let Keagan corrupt you too."

Those are the words of wisdom I wished I've taken to heart and followed to my dying breath.

0-0-0-0-0

{SHIZUBLAIR}

Now what really kickstarted my dilemma happened at that fateful lunch break a week after the Poppyrazzi incident.

Normally, Blair and I would find a nice quiet place to eat our packed lunches together. Sometimes, we'd eat out somewhere that serves whatever our diet plan would approve of. Even rarer times, we indulge and eat whatever we felt like eating.

But then there are days like today where my _dearest_ sister just disappears and I have no idea where she went.

"Oh, you too? Shizu's also been disappearing a lot lately," said Fiona, in between chewing her lunch.

During those days when Blair would flake on me, I end up having lunch with Keagan and Fiona. We've bonded after they saved me from Poppyrazzi and realized we have something in common: We're all kindred spirits in getting ditched by the people closest to us.

"Hmm… Now that I think about it, whenever he disappears, Blair's missing too," Keagan dropped his thinking pose and adopted what Blair likes to call his signature 'shipping grin'. "Secretly dating, perhaps?"

Fiona and I rolled our eyes. Leave it to Keagan to somehow make this all about romance. And of all the people, he just had to pick on my sister.

"That's unlikely," Fiona flatly said.

I hummed my agreement. Blair and Shizuke hardly interact. And when they do, they don't get along. Shizuke is the last person in school that I could imagine pairing up with Blair. They're just so… different. And I don't just mean that in the 'Beauty and the Geek' sense. I never would've thought of them as a potential couple until Keagan just had to suggest it!

"Oh come on! It's not that ridiculous!" Keagan said defensively.

"If he really is crushing on Blair, everyone would've known," Fiona countered, her icy blue eyes casting a glare that can stop anyone cold.

Good point. The way he glares every time he sees Blair, I think it's clear to everyone that he still hates my sister.

"But what about that one time you suggested it after you found all those magazine clip-"

"Kaji, that was a joke," Fiona firmly said, her pupils quickly darting towards me before glaring back at Keagan to keep quiet about it.

… I miss my twin. At least she wouldn't make me feel like a third wheel.

"Oh, right, the brother is here," Keagan said, suddenly remembering I exist. He turned to face me, grin growing wider as he did so.

I scooted away from Keagan, my instincts screaming at me to run away.

"Kaji, _no_ ," Fiona muttered as she gripped her fork in a threatening manner.

"Do you mind if I ask what kind of person would _you_ approve of for your sister?"

Seriously? Is this what most guys would talk about over lunch? Meh. Whatever floats his boat.

"He must never make her cry," I answered in my typical neutral voice.

And beyond general awareness of the person she's dating, it's none of my business. Age, race, religion, gender- it doesn't matter as long as she's happy. But if they hurt her, it officially becomes my business.

For now, it's the farthest thing down my list of concerns. We have more than enough to deal with. School, work, fans, akuma… Working up the courage to talk to Natalia in my case… And Blair never mentioned anyone she's interested in. She hasn't even experienced her 'first love' yet! That's why I don't bother to think about it too much.

Keagan pats my shoulder with a look of approval on his face.

"That's a good answer, bro. I can respect that. I really do."

I raised my eyebrow at Fiona, tilting my head to Keagan, hoping she'd explain Keagan logic.

"Kaji also has a sister he's overprotective of. An _older_ sister. One who happens to be a _champion fencer_ who's more than capable of taking care of herself and any jerk who breaks her heart."

Ooh, way to hit a nerve there. The last part felt more like it was directed at Keagan than it was at clearing up my confusion. It sounded almost like a warning.

Keagan got the same vibe too as his russet eyes glared at Fiona, but the girl was completely unfazed and shrugged it off.

"Long story. Don't ask," Keagan stiffly muttered.

"Sure," I solemnly nodded to my fellow protective brother. Even if our sisters are a force to be reckoned with, it wouldn't be enough to stop us from looking out for them or going after the jerks who hurt them.

At this, Keagan dropped his glare and he's back to being all smiles. Little did I know at that time, but this conversation was the start of my descent into madness.

" _Miraculous! Simply the best! Up to the test when things go wrong!~"_

And then someone's phone rang. I was not surprised to see it was Keagan's as he excitedly whips it out of his pocket. After one look into his phone, his smile drops and he hunches over the table staring at his phone in disbelief.

"Oh no…"

"What?" I asked worriedly.

Fiona was looking warily at Keagan, her lunch temporarily forgotten.

The three of us were still with suspense, until Keagan yelled the cause of his misery.

"I missed an akuma attack!"

Fiona and I did twin face-palms.

0-0-0-0-0

Half way through lunch break, Shizuke came back and offered to give Keagan and Fiona free desserts at the bakery as a peace offering for ditching them. He offered me some free desserts too, but I declined. I need my daily alone-time after socializing with his friends.

Right after that fateful lunch break that started it all, Keagan and Fiona approached me dragged me to the locker room after class to promise me that no matter what happens we'll always be lunch buddies and to apologize in advance on Shizuke's behalf.

"For what…?" I asked.

The duo took this moment to bicker on who's going to answer me. I only got a few words out of their whispered fight such as _'You're stronger and more intimidating than me, you do it!'_ and ' _It's your idea, take responsibility!_ ' in between so much shoving and glaring. After one last icy cold glare from Fiona, Keagan finally gave in and took a step forward.

"Shizu believes your sister is Hawkmoth."

Whuuut. How on earth did he jump to that conclusion?! If she was Hawkmoth, I would've known by now! There is no way my sister is secretly masquerading as a supervillain… She'd sooner gut herself with a spoon than go down the path of villainy! Our parents, bless their souls, would be so disappointed in her and she wouldn't want that…

(There was a long pause as Blake quietly stood there, staring into space as he thought of every single reason he could think of as to why his twin isn't secretly masquerading as a supervillain. Keagan and Fiona started getting uncomfortable with his lack of response.

"Uhh… Blake? Are you still in there?" Keagan worriedly asked, waving a hand in front of Blake's unseeing eyes.

"I told you this was a bad idea! Now there'll be _two_ of them after Shizu," Fiona said, readying herself to jump between the two boys if necessary.

"Relax Fuyu, he's just shocked. Give him time to-"

"'time to-' what?! Time to plan Shizu's-")

… There's a lot of things I wanted to say about how impossible that is, but all I could say was a dumbfounded "Whyyy…?"

Keagan took a deep breath before his usually sunshiney smiley face drops to a flat scowl. I thought he was going to say something serious, but then his way of explaining things was just…

"Well, Shizu was like _'There's so much evidence that point to Blair being Hawkmoth. This can't be a coincidence!'_ " Keagan was trying his best to imitate Shizuke's voice. He even mimed adjusting his glasses. "And I was like _'Dude, there is no way Blair would be caught dead wearing the evil office lady look. She can't possibly be Hawkmoth'_ because let's be real, Blair would've made a much hotter and flashier villainess than Hawkmoth."

I glared at Keagan as I cracked my knuckles as a wordless threat. I'm pretty sure I told him about how my dad, a police officer, taught me self-defence.

Fiona took the hint, slapped her hand over Keagan's mouth and continued their exposition. "The point is: You know Shizu. The word 'subtle' doesn't apply to him," Fiona started shifting uncomfortably, probably trying to find just the right words to phrase their concerns without triggering me into protective brother mode. "One day, he might go overboard with this crack theory and do something that would piss off your sister. We're here to prepare for damage control and we're kinda hoping you'd help."

"Sure. But if things get out of hand, I'll side with my sister."

Mostly because she can be scary when she wants to be and she plays dirty. I've learned it's best to stay on her good side.

"Fair enough," the pair said simultaneously.

And we shook on it. Just as we were about to walk out of school and pretend our conversation never happened, we saw _them_. Keagan, curious monkey that he is, pulled us back to hide behind the lockers so we can spy on them.

"Will you _please_ leave me alone?! I have homework to do!" Shizuke shouted, trying to walk around Blair but he's no match for my nimble twin who effortlessly blocks his path without taking her eyes off him.

"No you don't. We're in the same class, remember?" Blair playfully smirked as she grabbed Shizuke by the neck tie and pulled him down so they were 'growling' face to 'smirking' face. "If you don't have anything else to do today, why don't we hang out?"

Shizuke's face may have gone as red as my hair, but he still refused to back down. He fixed his glasses in a not-so-subtle attempt to cover his blush, pulled his tie away, folded his arms close to his chest and stood up straight to glare down at her. "What do you want?"

Wow. He's actually kinda intimidating when he puts his foot down. He could give Fiona a run for her money.

Sadly, it did nothing but made my sister grin wider. "I want us to be better friends.~"

Shizuke is not amused. His blush is completely gone and his glare intensified, glasses gleaming menacingly. "Why now?"

"Oh nothing. It just occurred to me that we've been classmates for almost four months now and we still haven't talked to each other much.~"

Shizuke folded his arms over his chest. "There are plenty of other people in class you could bother with this. Why _me_?"

"Why not?~"

They continued their stare off until the bell rang, signalling the end of club period. Shizuke took this as a signal to run away from my fearsome sister, all huffy and red faced. She didn't try to stop him this time.

Blair on the other hand just stood there with an amused smile at Shizuke's flustered retreating form as he disappeared within the crowd of athletes down the hall.

"Interesting," I commented under my breath. I've never seen my sister go after a guy with no ulterior motive before. At least it seems like it. What could she possibly gain from the class president anyway? A free hall pass?

I was about to ask my fellow eavesdroppers about their opinions on this weird development, but one look at them and I got all the answers I need.

Fiona was pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation, while Keagan is taking pictures with his shipping grin on.

"Yeah, interesting indeed," Keagan dreamily said with sparkling eyes.

And this is the moment I knew there was no turning back.

0-0-0-0-0

Since then, Blair started laying it thick with the flirts on Shizuke. With Shizuke's loudness, it wasn't long before everyone noticed. Just about everyone's taken an interest in my sister's strange fixation with the loudmouthed nerd. It's like a rom-com came to life. I guess everyone's a little interested in watching the 'Beauty and the Geek' trope playing out in real life, and there's no one who embodies that trope better than Blair the popular model and Shizuke the class president.

As her brother, of course I was curious too.

"Is there something going on between you and Shizuke?"

I just had to ask her as we were walking back to the Liungs' together. We rarely get to do this anymore because of our photo shoots and akumas attacking the city.

"Huh?" she asked, loosening her arms that were crossed behind her head.

She's playing dumb. We're twins, of course I could tell.

"You've been… how do I say this?" I ran my hand through my hair. How does one accuse his sister of flirting with weird guys without being insulting?

Blair started to snicker.

"Aww, is bwotha deawest scawed of wosing his sista to a boyfwend?" she mocked, putting both her hands over her heart and batting her eyes exaggeratedly.

"No! That's not it! I was just wondering-"

"Chill bro. Shizuke doesn't like me like that," she barely held back a cackle when she said; "He thinks I'm Hawkmoth. Could you believe that?"

My eyes widen and I almost choked on thin air when she said that. _She knew_.

And she's just laughing it off as if she isn't offended at all.

"But what about you? You've been hitting on him lately. _Do you like him_?" Woops. I didn't mean to blurt it out that bluntly, but I just did. Too late to take it back.

She went quiet for a second to absorb what I just said. My sister's lips curled to a grin reminiscent of the Cheshire cat. "Maybe?" she said before going back to laughing.

I gave her the most unimpressed look I can muster.

I never got a straight answer from her, so I never bothered asking her about it again. If she really knew what she feels about the loudmouthed nerd, she would've just told me. Looking further into it will only result in a headache of confusing feelings I am not prepared to help her sort out.

But honestly, I wouldn't mind if she dates Shizuke. After he gets it through his head that my sister isn't Hawkmoth, I can see him treating my sister well. While Shizuke may be a hyperactive academic zealot, I think he's a nice enough guy. He was nice enough to offer me free food. He's probably the sort who'd remember dates and sincerely apologize if he's ever late. Even better, he's not the sort who'd just let Blair step all over him. He's got a spine. He'd make a dedicated boyfriend. Keagan and Fiona will surely attest to that.

Most importantly, he can make her smile. Not the picture perfect smile she gives the photographers, or the smirk she gives everyone else. I'm talking about a more unguarded smile she has whenever she's around people she's comfortable with, like friends and family… or when she's watching funny cat videos on Youtube.

I was suspicious at first about Blair being suddenly keen on befriending-slash-flirting-with Shizuke, but it wasn't long before I just got used to it and stopped questioning it. Judging from the amused look on her face, she's probably just doing it because she finds him amusing.

This is just a strange fling at most. For now, Shizuke Midorikawa is nothing more than her new entertainment system.

0-0-0-0-0

{LADYBLAIR}

About two weeks after _ShizuBlair_ – Keagan is a terrible influence for teaching me how to name relationships – started, _LadyBlair_ happened.

That was the sixth time an akuma went after one of us twins. To sum it up:

Charmer was the first, followed by the male equivalent, Stunner. They were after us on the same day. I learned that throwing food at an akuma made for a wonderful distraction and that Blair had terrible acting skills and lacked originality in terms of escape tactics.

After them was the Un-Secret Admirer, who announced to the entire city that I will be her boyfriend while she tied me up on a flag with a heart. I'll give her an A for presentation, but an F in naming sense.

There was not a single man in Helios who didn't pity Mr. Right. Even Ladybug winced when Blair kicked him in the nuts. While I still think he deserved it, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the entitled jerk. Not that it would stop me from doing the same to him given the chance.

Poppyrazzi at least made some effort in naming. Keagan and I became friends after that particular attack. I now regret our friendship.

Stud Muffin was the latest monstrosity who followed this trend. Hawkmoth must've been running out of ideas to name him that.

After this akuma, a _shipping war_ – why do I even know this term? – in the Ladyblog forums somehow started. It was my sister versus Chat Noire over Ladybug.

As celebrities, this shouldn't be new to us. We've paired up with different models that, according to some photographers, we'd make an aesthetically pleasing couple with. We had to work with some of them more than others, to the point that there were a few articles of a rumoured relationship going on- some of the rumours we even encouraged to promote ourselves. Blair took advantage of the hype to further her career and came off as a playful lovable flirt, while when I did the same, the magazines just dubbed me as a bad boy heartbreaker. The publishers aren't even trying to be subtle about the double standards. Meh. We're getting paid for this anyway.

But I never would've dreamed that either of us would be _shipped_ – Keagan stop adding unnecessary words to my vocabulary – with a superhero! Much to my relief, it wasn't me. The heroes are great and all, but I'm just not into them that way. But my sister is kinda available…

Considering how often we get targeted, I think it would be nice to have a superhero for a potential future brother-in-law. Blair and I have always been huge fans of superheroes, and not to mention… Ugh! Stop that thought. Blake, don't fantasize about getting a superbro! Blair's relationship with Ladybug is non-existent!

"You know Blair, if I didn't already ship LadyNoire, I would've shipped Ladybug with you instead," Keagan teased Blair.

I shot a glare at Keagan. It's his fault for planting that idea in my head.

"Ah, but there's a risk to dating a superhero that I'm just not willing to take. I wouldn't want to be seen as the perfect hostage for the akuma to target and force Ladybug to give up his Miraculous for me," Blair answered like the professional she is.

Welp. She's not interested. That's the end of that.

0-0-0-0-0

{SHIZUCHAT}

Admittedly, it was kinda funny to watch Shizuke's head turning to wherever Blair puts Keagan's phone. It was kinda like watching a cat video... Coincidentally, the video Keagan's phone is playing just happens to feature a certain cat themed heroine.

If someone asked me yesterday what I'd imagine Shizuke's ideal girl would be like, I'm sure 'wild, red haired girl in a skin-tight leather cat suit' wouldn't come to mind. But lo and behold! He couldn't be more obvious if he tried.

This guy's got a huge crush on Chat Noire. He even had the most lovesick look on his face that can rival even Ladybug's. It'll be a miracle for any girl to catch his attention, even if the girl in question happens to be a famous model.

Sorry Sis. You just lost to a crackship. This just sunk any chance of ShizuBlair ever sailing.

It will never be canon!

… Keagan, why did you teach me your shipping ways?

0-0-0-0-0

{LADYNOIRESHIZUBLAIR}

And now for the day I regretfully learned of a concept I wish I can unlearn.

"Guys, have you heard that the heroes were having an argument yesterday?"

The five of us were having lunch together. For some reason, both Blair and Shizuke were out of it today and were napping on their sides of the table, their lunch completely forgotten at their side.

"Kaji, I was there right next to you. They were screaming about getting ice cream or something," Fiona piped up.

I raised a brow at that.

The two sleepyheads finally woke up.

"Well, after asking around the Ladyblog for videos or sound clips of their argument, I compiled them based on the time they were recorded and this is what I got," he explained, before playing the recording on his phone.

" _[-z-z- -z-zzz- our bond!]"_

" _{No!}"_

" _[-zz- contacting –zzz-zz- -zz-z-!]"_

" _{No!}"_

" _[-zzz-z- -z- -zz-z- together without anyone bothering us!]"_

" _{No!}"_

" _[-zz-zz- -zz-z- running away zz-z-z- -z-z-zzz- -z-z- -z-zz- zz-zzz-z- -z-z- -zzz-zz- -zz-zz-z-!]"_

" _[-zz- -z-z- -zz-z- hiding -zz-z-!]"_

" _{No!}"_

" _[Fans -z-z-zzz- -z-z-zzzz- -z-zz- -z-zz- get ice cream together -z- -zzz-zz-z-!]"_

" _{No!}"_

Half of the audio was hard to make out due to wind turbulence since the heroes were quickly swinging around the city. I could barely make out their words. The leather kitty ears must be functional if Chat Noire actually understood whatever Ladybug had to say for her to keep replying.

"Any idea what they could've been talking about?" Keagan asked.

That shipping grin on his face tells me he already has a theory.

"… I have no idea what I was just listening to," Fiona admitted.

"Kaji, maybe you should just leave them alone," Shizuke groggily suggested as he fixed his glasses on his face, his usually properly combed hair and neatly pressed shirt in disarray.

"Yeah. If they have a problem, it's their business," Blair haggardly agreed, skin weirdly pale, dark circles under her eyes and her hair tied in a plain misaligned ponytail instead of her usual foxtail.

… Wow. For once, these two actually agreed on something.

"But that's no fun. Besides, they're just harmless theories. It's not like I'm trying to unmask them or something," Keagan whined.

I felt Blair stiffen from right next to me. Guess I'm not the only one dreading what Keagan's latest shipping theory. I know for a fact that Blair hates LadyNoire.

"Spill," I ordered with complete resignation, just to get this over with.

Keagan grinned my way. "Gladly."

Keagan takes out a notebook and roughly sketches chibi style heads of the iconic hero duo. He drew a two way arrow between them with a broken heart above it.

"The heroic duo had an argument and possibly broke up…" he explained, as he drew another chibi head.

This time, the head looked like my sister. He drew a line to connect her and Ladybug with the arrow pointing towards Blair and labelled it with a heart with a question mark.

"… because Ladybug was in a rush to get back to famous teen model Blair."

He then drew another arrow from Blair, this time the arrow is pointing towards the broken heart on LadyNoire. The arrow was labelled with a smiley.

"Blair was probably pretty happy that LadyNoire broke up because she's an anti-shipper," Keagan said with a pout.

Blair frowned back at him, but did nothing to deny his claim.

Keagan isn't done yet. He was drawing yet another chibi head. Judging by the glasses, I think it's supposed to be Shizuke. It's hard to tell. Aside from his bluish black hair and glasses, Shizuke is pretty nondescript, especially when drawn even more simplified as a chibi.

He connected Blair's chibi head to Shizuke's with an arrow pointing towards Shizuke. This arrow is labelled with a winking smiley with a small floating heart. Flirting smiley?

"… But she's more interested in class president Shizu than Ladybug."

Shizuke's glasses gleamed menacingly at Keagan.

Keagan drew another arrow, this time from Shizuke pointing to Blair. It's labelled with an angry face.

"Shizu on the other hand is still holding a petty grudge towards Blair. And even if he does forgive her…"

Keagan added another arrow, from Shizuke to Chat Noire. This one is labelled with a heart.

"… He'll never look her way because he's too besotted with Chat Noire."

"HEY!" Shizuke piped up with his face turning red, standing up with his hands slammed on the table. His voice actually cracked. "DON'T TELL OTHER PEOPLE THAT!"

"Wait, was that supposed to be a secret?" I couldn't help but retort out loud. With how obvious he was, I thought he just didn't care who knew!

"Apparently, yes," Blair helpfully answered.

"Shh…" Fiona effortlessly pulled Shizuke back to his seat with one hand before rubbing circles around his back in a comforting manner. "Everyone already knows, Shizu. It's no big deal. No one's judging you."

Shizuke grumpily scowled.

"Where was I? Oh, yeah," Keagan said, drawing another arrow from Shizuke towards the broken heart on LadyNoire. The arrow was labelled with a confused face. "While he does have a huge crush on Chat Noire, he ships LadyNoire, so he has very mixed feelings about their break up."

He drew another arrow, pointing from Chat Noire to Ladybug. This one is labelled with the word 'tsundere'.

"Chat Noire still has feelings for Ladybug, but is upset with him."

Another arrow is added, this time pointing from Ladybug back to Chat Noire. This one is labelled with a heart, this time with _polka dots_. And antennae.

"While Ladybug feels bad about upsetting her and is trying to make amends so they can get back together. That's why they were arguing all around the city. It makes perfect sense!

He wanted to fix their bond.

He's been trying to contact her but she won't pick up her phone.

He wants to go somewhere together where no one can bother them.

He promises Chat Noire that he'll never run away from her to be with a model.

That she doesn't have to go hiding from him and seek comfort from fan boys.

He was offering her a date over ice cream as a peace offering to fix their relationship!"

Keagan was standing and panting by the time he was finished explaining his theory.

All he got from us was awkward silence. He gloomily went back to his seat and picked on his lunch, muttering about missing his internet friends who appreciate his fan theories better.

Blair and Shizuke simultaneously laid their heads down on the table and continued their nap. Fiona shrugged and continued eating lunch. Sometimes, I envy how she can just roll with the craziness surrounding her two best friends.

"Well that was something," I muttered to myself, still absorbing the whole theory.

The love square blew my mind.

It was something so complicated, so mind boggling… And yet I can't look away.

It's like one of those cheesy soap operas. It annoys me to death and I would want nothing more than to smash my head against a wall from the sheer absurdity of it all. Everyone involved in that mess is an idiot!

At the same time, it's so fascinating. The possibilities, the people involved… I feel like I want to root for them. I want everyone involved to find their happiness. I want to watch it to the end. See what happens next. Where it goes.

Four people. Four ships.

It's beautiful. It's frustrating!

The worst part of it all is that my sister's involved, and yet I'm rooting for Ladybug the most. He loves Chat Noire! He deserves to be happy! He saved our lives! LadyNoire should be canon!

I am trash.

No, I am worse than trash.

It made me wish for a jar of brain bleach.

CURSE YOU KEAGAN GERALD AURELIO ASHWORTH FOR INTRODUCING ME TO SHIPPING!

0-0-0-0-0


	8. 2-1 Bully Hunter

**CHAPTER 8: WHEN WINTER MET SPRING**

Man life got busy and it took me half a year to update but here it is! A new story arch! Woot! Woot! Enjoy!

Notes:

So Trigger warnings, this chapter contains scenes depicting a toxic friendship. Nothing too graphic or detailed, especially since it's from an outsider's POV, but it's still there so just wanna warn readers.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Fiona**

It was around this time of the year when we became friends – the time when winter turns to spring. It's been seven whole years.

0-0-0-0-0

 _Seven years ago…_

 _Summer vacation just ended and I already miss the biting cold of Russia: my grampa's cheerful old voice, the hot chocolate he never seems to run out of, the obstacle course he set up in his backyard that served as my playground… His place may not be as comfy as my home here in Helios, but at least nobody there treated me like I'm made of porcelain._

 _I'm aware that I'm adorable. Big sapphire blue eyes, long rosy pink hair bunched into two pigtails, pearly white skin, delicate petite stature… With the cute frilly dresses and the sparkly jewelry Papa decorates me with, I'm like the world's most life-like doll – the little princess of the king of gems. Everyone adores me for it. That's all they ever saw me as, nothing more._

 _And I hated it._

 _The mayor's son may be annoying, but at least he doesn't act like I'm a pushover. He's the only person at school worth talking to. Too bad this year, his father decided to have him home-schooled. Killjoy._

 _So now I'm sitting in school, all alone. Life sucks._

" _Class, we have a new student today," said the homeroom teacher, Mr. Warren. He ushered in a boy who was nervously shaking in front of the class._

 _He has short bluish-black hair, tawny beige skin, and warm chocolate brown eyes hidden behind a pair of thick square glasses. He was wearing an oversized apple green sweater that's faded in some areas and a ratty old backpack covered in markings that I don't understand. Clearly, he's not from around here._

 _The boy bowed to us like we're royalty, and said in a voice that's louder than necessary: "MAI NEIMU ISU MIDORIKAWA SHIZUKE! NAISU TO MIT YUUUU!"_

 _I didn't understand a word he said. Everyone laughed at his terrible language skills. I'd be laughing too if I didn't know how it feels like to be in a place where everyone speaks differently from me. The boy's face turned redder than a tomato in embarrassment as the laughter got louder._

" _Settle down children!" Mr. Warren said, knocking on his desk to get the class's attention. Once the class quieted down, he placed a comforting hand on the red faced boy and continued his introduction for him, "His name is Shizuke Midorikawa. He came from Kyoto, Japan and he'll be studying here with us from now on. He has a good understanding of English, but please be considerate and speak to him slowly."_

" _But he can't even speak right! Why do we have to speak to him at all?" one of the boys sneered, causing the class to erupt with laughter._

 _The boy is now hiding behind the teacher, who glanced down at him sympathetically. The orange haired assistant teacher, Mr. Ross, slammed a book into the desk so loud that the class abruptly stopped laughing to stare._

" _Children, I will not tolerate you making fun of our new student like that. This boy came from a different place where everyone speaks differently from us. If any of you were to go there, would you like to be laughed at for not knowing how to say their words properly?"_

 _None of the kids said anything. Nobody would like to be made fun of over that. Mr. Ross, content with their reaction, smiled at the class. This is the first time I ever thought of Keagan's uncle-to-be as anything but an awkward dork. The new kid was looking at Mr. Ross with awe._

" _So please, don't make fun of him for that. Instead, why don't you kids help him out? I'm sure you can learn a lot from him as he will learn a lot from you."_

" _Yes, Mr. Ross," the class chorused._

" _Thanks man, you're a lifesaver," Mr. Warren said to the assistant teacher before kneeling down to the boy's eye level. "Now go along. You can sit next to, uhm…"_

 _Mr. Warren scanned the room looking for an empty seat before his eyes settled on me. Or more likely, the empty seat next to me- Keagan's seat._

" _How about you go sit next to Fiona over there?"_

 _Oh no, you don't! I dumped my bag onto the empty seat, claiming it as mine._

" _Fiona, don't be rude. Let your new classmate sit there," Mr. Warren chided._

 _I glared at him and shook my head. "No! The idiot sits here!"_

 _Mr. Ross looked at me with sympathetic aquamarine eyes. "I understand how you feel, but Keagan is being home-schooled now. I'm sure he wouldn't mind-"_

" _No."_

" _How about you let the new kid sit next to me?"_

 _Oh no. Anyone but him. He's the absolute worst!_

" _Thank you, Damien," Mr. Warren smiled at him with relief and turned back to the new kid. "You can sit in the back with the huge boy in a black shirt."_

 _The new kid nodded, his hands clutched onto his backpack straps and he wordlessly made his way to the empty seat next to a huge dark skinned boy with spiky black hair and dark brown eyes. He passed by my desk, stared at Keagan's empty seat until one of Damien's underlings jeered, "Hurry up, nerd!" causing him to scramble to the back._

 _I can already tell that life is gonna suck for the new kid._

0-0-0-0-0

" _Calm down, Hon," Mama said as she rubbed Papa's back._

" _You're in the same class as the eldest son of Guerrero Real Estates?!" Papa shrieked, as soon as he recovered from choking on his drink when I told him how my first day in class went over dinner._

" _Yup."_

 _I continued to shove my vegetables to the side of my plate. Ick._

 _Gavril, my older brother by five years, slid his vegetables onto my plate. Jerk._

" _Gav, don't think I didn't see that," Mama scolded as she took my plate and returned Gavril's share of his vegetables, making Gav glare at her. "Don't give me that look. If I have to suffer eating my vegetables, you should too."_

 _Gavril grumbled about how gross vegetables are. Mama sighed and ate her share to prove her point. Defeated, Gavril started eating his vegetables too._

" _That goes for you too, Fiona. You may not like the taste, but you need to eat them," Mama chided as she plopped more buttery mashed potatoes down my plate. "Just cut them up into tiny pieces and swallow them in between eating your mashed potatoes._ _Don't chew._ _It should help make the taste more tolerable."_

 _I groaned but did as she said. At least she never lied about vegetables tasting good like Keagan's parents tend to do. Mama can be trusted._

" _Bel, this is HUGE! Think of all the connections we could get if little Fiona befriends him!"_

" _Feodor, honey, no discussing business at the dinner table."_

 _One would've thought Mama – who dresses like a punk 24/7, has twelve piercings, tattoos on every inch of skin from the neck down and does that for other people for a living – would be the wild parent while Papa – who likes wearing stuffy suits, spends an hour in the bathroom every day just to make himself pretty and works for an international brand as their new top jewelry designer – would be the one trying to keep order in this family. More often than not, it's the other way around._

" _Damien's a jerk. I don't wanna be friends with him," I huffed and swallowed a huge helping of mashed potato to get rid of the vegetable's icky taste._

 _Gavril snorted. "You're just chicken."_

" _Am not!" I slammed my fork and spoon down on the table._

" _You so are! That's why you only befriend wimps like Fire McGoldenAsh!"_

" _Damien is a big bully who scares everyone into doing what he wants! I don't want to be friends with someone like that!"_

" _So you ARE scared!"_

" _I. Am. NOT!"_

" _Are too!"_

" _AM NOT!"_

" _But he's not like that around you, is he?" Papa asked. There's a protective edge in his voice. The seriousness in his tone was enough to quiet down my annoying brother – and the fact that Mama put a hand over his mouth._

" _No, but that doesn't make it okay," I growled._

 _And that kind of behavior disgusts me. I used to be one of those people Damien would step on. He'd still be doing that if my family weren't so rich now._

 _Papa narrowed his steel grey eyes at me to look for any signs if I'm lying. Seeing none, Papa nodded in understanding. "Just don't get on his bad side, okay? The Guerreros are not the sort of people we'd want to mess with."_

 _I wanted to argue, that what Damien's doing is wrong. I looked to Mama, hoping she'd talk some sense into Papa like she always would… But instead, she's agreeing with Papa._

" _Listen to Papa, Fiona. This isn't a fight you'd want to get into. You don't have to be friends with him as long as you're not his enemy," Mama patted my hair comfortingly. "We just want you to be safe."_

 _I nodded reluctantly. It's hard to argue if even Mama thinks it's what I should do._

" _And don't slouch. It's not lady-like," Papa chided._

 _I slouched down even more. The last thing I wanted was to be more lady-like. Papa huffed but before he can say anything about it, Gav got his attention._

" _Hey, what's the big deal? Aren't we technically richer than those guys now that you've been promoted to Hera's top designer?"_

" _We are. But they're a powerful family from old money with a reputation in this city, while we've only recently climbed up the social ladder. Even with Hera's international influence, I'm just their employee. And…"_

 _And so my parents and Gav started talking about boring stuff that I zoned out. All I really understood was that while Damien's family is rich, ours is richer, and Keagan's is the richest. Makes sense. Keagan's the one who lives in a castle after all. But just because we're richer than Damien, doesn't mean it's okay to get on his bad side- the Guerreros are still a powerful family and no one wants to mess with them._

 _One thing's for sure, Keagan and I are lucky enough to stand above Damien. We're not his targets. I pity everyone else._

 _The new kid is going to learn that the hard way._

0-0-0-0-0

" _B+? Is that the best you can do?" Damien said, looking at his worksheet with disgust. "Damn, Shizuke, I thought you'd be good at math! Are those glasses just for show or are you just that one dumbass from Japan?"_

" _I-I'm sorry," Shizuke ducked his head low in what I'm starting to understand as a gesture of apology. "Math is currently my best subject. They use the same symbols from back home, but I'm no super geniu-"_

" _Bullshit!" Damien cut in. He crumpled his worksheet into a ball and threw it at Shizuke's bowed down head. "Am I not your friend? Is this how you repay me after all the kindness I've given you?"_

 _By kindness, he meant letting him have a seat. Just sitting next to Damien prevents others from mocking him, which I wouldn't count as Damien protecting him. And there's allegedly improving Shizuke's English, but I get the feeling the new kid could've done that on his own with enough practice talking to other people._

" _No. I'll do better next time. I promise."_

" _You better," Damien spat. "Now back to your seat. You can help me get better grades in Science while I get us lunch."_

" _Yes, Damien-kun. Thank you for being my friend."_

 _This pattern went on for a few more weeks, progressively getting worse. The paper balls he throws at Shizuke soon became pencils. Other days, he threw notebooks. On very bad days, he threw shoes._

 _I'm sure the kid will realize that Damien is a bad friend sooner or later. Nobody lasted more than a month. It's only a matter of time now. There's no need to interfere. No need to make myself a target._

0-0-0-0-0

 _I was grumpily shoving my latest art failure – stupid Gav, taking all the art genes – into the garbage can when I heard my other classmates whispering among themselves._

" _He sure has it rough."_

 _When I took a peek down the hall at what they were talking about, I saw Shizuke running towards our classroom with a huge paper bag overflowing with art supplies._

" _Shouldn't we help him or something?"_

" _No, stupid! Do you want to get on Damien's bad side?"_

" _I heard the last kid who annoyed him got expelled."_

" _Talk about overkill."_

" _That's why we should never mess with a Guerrero."_

 _Damien just loves to rub his money in their faces, and no one dares to tell on him. The faculty wouldn't dare out of fear of his family. It's why he gets away with so much. Only Mr. Ross dared to help Shizuke but he's only an assistant teacher for a couple of months. As soon as he was gone, Damien got worse._

 _But day after day, looking at Shizuke's pitiful form slumped over his desk surrounded by his and Damien's schoolwork or scurrying around our huge school to run errands for Damien, it's getting harder and harder to standby and do nothing… But is he worth the trouble?_

0-0-0-0-0

 _Weekends are the only days the Ashworth Castle is ever open to the public anymore. Even during winter break, they stayed closed on the weekdays save for Christmas and New Year's. For an amusement park with a fairy tale castle as the biggest attraction, it sure doesn't feel like a fantasy land lately._

" _That's because father's too busy with his campaign to manage an amusement park," Keagan said, as he stirred some sugar into his tea._

 _We were having snacks in one of the castle's many courtyards. The courtyard had a small fountain in the middle, surrounded by a lush garden decorated with fairy lights and lightly dusted with snow. We were in a gazebo having a kid-sized two person outdoor tea party. Even with the heaters on in the castle around us, Keagan's all bundled up in a thick jacket and a duvet. I prefer to use mine as extra cushion._

" _And your mother?"_

" _Managing press, to boost my father's publicity," Keagan took a nice long sip of his Earl Grey._

 _I grabbed a few more marshmallows to melt into my hot chocolate. I was gonna ask about his uncle when I remembered…_

" _Uncle Augusto would've been more than happy to take over but he's…" Keagan choked on his words, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. It's been months since his uncle died, but Keagan's still not over it._

 _The less said about his uncle's wife and kid who left, the better._

" _There, there," I said, reaching over the table to pat his head._

" _I'm not crying!" he whined, looking even more like a kicked puppy. "It's not like I'm always alone!"_

 _I narrowed my eyes at him. "But you're still usually alone. You don't like being alone."_

 _Keagan grumpily huffed about how nothing gets past me before going on to reassure, "My sister makes time to play with me in between her lessons. Aunt Vera visits me whenever she can, and I can always count on Uncle Ross to come if she couldn't make it."_

" _You know he's not officially your uncle yet, right?"_

 _Keagan grinned, cheerful now that we're talking about him_ gaining _an uncle instead of_ losing _one._

" _It's only a matter of time before he asks Aunt Vera to marry him, hehehe…" he twiddled his fingers as he cackled like a maniac._

" _Please. They're not even dating yet."_

" _Don't underestimate Uncle Ross! I'm sure they'd get married soon!"_

" _Mr. Ross is cool and all, but he's a chicken when it comes to your Aunt Vera."_

 _I sipped down half of my hot chocolate in one go. This is definitely a step up from the hot chocolates I used to drink. One of the few things I love about being rich is being able to afford better versions of the sweets I love. It wasn't until after I was done wiping off my chocolate mustache with my sleeve that I noticed Keagan was gaping at me._

" _Is there something on my face?"_

" _What did Uncle Ross do to get your words of approval?"_

" _Huh?"_

 _Keagan scooted closer, his eyes wide with curiosity. "You said he's_ cool _."_

" _So?"_

" _You're not the sort to give out compliments easily. When you do, that person must've done something you genuinely think is awesome to earn it, and I doubt it's about his new haircut – I'll never understand why he had a long hair phase but I'm glad he's over it."_

 _It's times like these that remind me why I hang out with this ditzy prince. He gets me, unlike most people._

" _So, did Uncle Ross do something awesome at school recently?"_

 _I told Keagan about how Mr. Ross didn't take the class's crud and stopped them from making fun of the new kid on the first day of school. Not only that, Ross kept doing that whenever he's within earshot so no one picked on the new kid whenever he's around, not even Damien. Then Keagan got curious about the new kid. He's Japanese, and with Keagan's recent obsession with anime, of course he was interested. I told him everything I knew- which wasn't much, but it was enough to paint an ugly picture of what that kid has gotten into. It made me sick that nothing's changed even after months._

" _Poor kid, he doesn't deserve to be treated that way! I wish there was something I can do…"_

" _But you're stuck here and you can't just leave-"_

" _I know!" Keagan cuts me off. Keagan doesn't angry often, but when he does, it always catches me off guard. In a blink of an eye, he seemed to calm down much to my relief. "I know. But what's happening with him is still wrong! If only …"_

 _If only he could be there, he would've done something to change it._

 _Talking about it with Keagan settled it for me. It's nice to know there's at least one other person who thinks that what is happening is wrong – that I'm not the only one who wants things to change. And change isn't going to happen just by wishing for it, it happens when someone makes it happen. Shizuke clearly won't make that change, but he needs to get away from Damien sooner rather than later._

 _I don't care if I get on Damien's bad side or what Mama and Papa will say, I'm gonna do what's right! As soon as school starts again, I'll make that happen._

0-0-0-0-0

" _You know he's just using you," I told Shizuke._

 _We were alone in the locker room. Everyone else was out for lunch. Shizuke was always the last to leave, as he was not only packing his own things, but also Damien's._

 _Shizuke shook his head and held the P.E. shirts – one of them had Damien's name on it – closer to his chest._

" _No. This is the least I can do after all he's done for me. I owe him."_

" _You don't owe him anything."_

" _He gave me a place to sit on the first day of school!"_

" _And since then he's been making you do all his schoolwork for him."_

" _He gives me free lunch!"_

" _He took them from other kids and you just let him."_

 _Which is probably why no one was willing to help Shizuke. The other kids would've probably hated Shizuke had it not been clear that Shizuke gets bullied just as badly as they are. He's probably worse off than most of us. While everyone else only has to deal with Damien if they're unlucky enough to run into him, Shizuke has to deal with Damien all day, every day._

 _Shizuke shifted uncomfortably and looked away, guilt evident in his face._

" _He-he said they deserve it for being saying mean things about me!"_

" _Did you ever hear them say mean things about you?"_

 _Shizuke didn't reply. He couldn't say he did when he knows he didn't. Bad liar._

" _Shizuke, Damien's not being a friend to you, he's a bully. Leave him and make actual friends."_

" _No one else would want to be friends with someone like me," he said quietly._

 _Oh. So that's why he doesn't leave Damien. He's desperate for friends and thinks he doesn't have any other choice. Then I'll give him one._

" _Not if you don't let them," I offered my hand out in a handshake. Shizuke just stared at my hand, confused. "I for one, want to be your friend. Will you let me?"_

 _Honestly, I'm mostly doing this out of pity. The rest of the class also pities him. They just don't do anything to help Shizuke because none of them wants to get on Damien's bad side. Cowards._

" _Uh-uhm…" Shizuke's face was turning redder and redder as he stared at my hand, then at my face, then back at my hand._

 _What? Are handshakes not a thing from where he came from? I decided to just go for it and grabbed his hand and shook it. The boy made a squeaky sound and nearly dropped his –_ _and_ _Damien's – P.E. uniform._

" _There. FRIENDS. Got it?"_

 _As soon as I let go of his hand, he snatched it back like it was burnt and hid his face behind the shirts he was carrying. He started muttering something in rapid-fire Japanese, with the names 'Damien-kun' and 'Kuznetsov-san' thrown around from time to time. I didn't need subtitles to tell from his tone that something is bothering him. He's scared out of his wits. What's with him? Before I can ask him that, he seemed to remember he wasn't alone and snapped out of his external monologue._

" _Uh-uhm… I better go," he finally said in English. "See you next period, Kuznetsov-san!"_

 _He bowed before he fled the classroom._

0-0-0-0-0

 _I didn't give up. I tried talking to him whenever I can catch him away from Damien. It was more difficult than I expected. Damien was making full use of his 'best friend'._

 _This isn't the first time Damien got himself a 'best friend' and made them do everything for him. This is just the first time anyone's lasted this long. All Damien's past 'best friends' crack within the first month, and one way or another, they'd transfer out._

 _Shizuke never once complained. He seems more afraid that Damien will stop being his friend than Damien himself. It became clear that he's not going to leave on his own._

 _I have to save him._

0-0-0-0-0

 _It wasn't a surprise for me to see Damien cornering Shizuke at the playground's stone elephant slide. One of his goons told on Shizuke in hopes of getting into his good graces. Butt kisser._

 _From what I can hear, Damien's pissed off that I wanted to befriend Shizuke and not him when he's the rich kid and Shizuke's just a poor immigrant. So he blames Shizuke. How stupid can he be? This is why Keagan's my only friend in rich people land. Everyone else is too drunk on their family's power to be worth hanging out with._

" _You're nowhere near the same fucking level! You're lucky to even look at her! Just who do you think you are to talk to the Jewelry Princess?!"_

 _Shizuke was prostrating down on the cold snowy ground. I approached from behind Damien. A quick glare at his three goons made them shut up about spotting me._

" _Well?! What the fuck do you have to say for yourself?!"_

" _GOMENASAI! I MEAN-I'M SORRY! I WON'T TALK TO KUZNETSOV-SAN EVER AGAIN!"_

 _From the way his voice sounded nasally, he must be crying. I'm definitely gonna tear Damien a new one._

" _That's not enough! You'll never be good enough! You'll always be a worthless little shit!"_

 _Damien was about to slam his meaty fist down Shizuke's head when I grabbed his wrist, making him stop and turn towards me._

" _What do you think you're doing to my friend?"_

 _Shizuke looked up from his prostrating position. His glasses were skewed, and for once, I can see his eyes. They looked red and puffy from crying. That made me grip Damien's wrist tighter, my nails digging into his flesh made him wince in pain._

" _I was just putting him in place," Damien said, his bronze eyes glaring at me. "He's not worth your time, princess."_

 _My eye twitched at the nickname. I always hated being called that._

" _And who are you to decide that?"_

 _Soon, our argument devolved into a fight, which – to everyone's surprise – I won, even with the numbers stacked against me. I had the field advantage; I'm used to navigating around ice and snow. And it helped that they underestimated me. I'm a lot stronger than I look._

 _I picked off Damien and his goons one by one in the playground. They all either got hit in the gut by the swings, slipped on ice by the seesaw, or had piles of snow dropped on them when we got to the monkey bars. All they could do was yell curse words at me as I kept slipping out of their grasps. Grampa always told me that to win a war one must take full advantage of the terrain and cripple your opponents as fast as possible._

 _I may look like a porcelain doll, but I'm far from fragile. And now the whole school knows it._

0-0-0-0-0

 _All six of us – namely, me, Shizuke, Damien and his three goons I can't be bothered to remember the names of – were sent to the principal's office. Damien and his goons were sniveling on the opposite side of the waiting area, huddled together for warmth. I'm wearing less layers than they are and yet I'm perfectly fine. Wimps._

 _The principal called for a meeting with all our parents. As expected, Damien tried to get me expelled. It's a good thing mama had Keagan's parents on speed dial. After dragging Keagan's parents into this, the principal had to play fair and just gave us all detention for a few days. And to think my parents were making such a huge fuss about making enemies out of the Guerreros._

" _Uhm… Uh…" Shizuke twiddled his fingers around a paper cup of hot chocolate and shoved it towards me. "Here!"_

" _Huh? What's this for?" I was confused, but I reached out for the hot chocolate anyway. Can't say no to free chocolate, even if it's the cheap vendo machine kind._

 _He fidgeted in place, his face turning red in embarrassment. "You were trying to warn me, but I didn't listen and you were right and… and… I wanted to say thank you for saving me!" he finished with a bow._

" _Oh. You don't need to thank me. That's what friends are for."_

" _F-friends?" he sounded doubtful._

" _Yes. Friends. They look out for each other not because they owe them, but because they care about them."_

" _But Damien-kun said…"_

"'Damien-kun' _," I said with disgust. "-is a butt and wasn't acting like your friend! You don't have to hang out with him anymore. I'm a much better friend than he is."_

" _But I'm not good enough… I'll never be good enough…" his voice was getting quieter and his gaze dropped to the floor._

" _Is that what he said?"_

" _He's not the only one. Many others said that even before I moved here… It must be true."_

" _Then they're all dumb."_

 _Shizuke raised his head and looked gobsmacked at my conclusion._

" _Just because a lot of people say something, doesn't mean it's true. Take me for example. People say I'm like an adorable porcelain doll. A princess. But can a Jewelry Princess beat those losers all alone?" I pointed towards Damien and his goons with my thumb. "I don't think so. I'm made of stronger stuff."_

 _Of all the reactions I was anticipating, I did not expect the mousy glasses boy to laugh, saying something about 'Gahpu Moweh'._

" _Hey!" I huffed gently nudged him. He nearly fell over. I was going to apologize but he didn't stop laughing while rubbing his arm. I take back any guilty feelings I had for shoving him. "What's so funny?"_

" _You're different from how I imagined you were like."_

" _How did you imagine I was like?"_

 _He muttered something under his breath, his cheeks turning red._

" _Say what?"_

" _NOTHING! YOU'RE JUST STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT YOU'D BE!"_

 _Realizing he started yelling, Shizuke shrunk back and hid his red face behind his hands. With the hot chocolate in my hand feeling cool enough, I downed it in one go along with my irritation at not understanding what he just said. Whatever it is, I get the feeling I'll be even more annoyed if I knew._

" _Got a problem with that?" I sternly said, doing my best to imitate Mama when dealing with rowdy customers at her tattoo shop._

 _Shizuke shook his head in denial, not removing his hands from his ever-reddening face._

" _Good. I'm sure we'll be good friends," I said, prying his hands away from his face._

" _Y-yes Kuznetsov-san!"_

" _It's Fiona."_

" _What?"_

" _My name, silly. Kuznetsov-san sounds too formal, and I don't like formal. You can call me Fiona."_

 _For some reason, instead of making him feel less stiff around me, he just got more flustered. It wasn't until later in life that I learned that people in his culture only start calling each other by given name if they're close. And the fact that Shizuke is easily flustered in general._

" _F-F-Fuyu…"_

" _Fuyu?" I said, testing out the sound of it. It's not as girly sounding as Fiona or grampa's nickname for me, Fiya, but sounds close enough that it feels like it's still my name…_

" _I-I'm sorry! I meant to say-"_

" _It's okay. I like it. You can call me Fuyu from now on."_

" _O-okay, Fuyu. It suits you, actually."_

" _Hm?"_

" _In Japanese, it means 'winter'. You seem comfortable in the cold… It's like you're at home with the ice and snow."_

 _That moment, I knew that this was the start of a great friendship._

0-0-0-0-0

A lot has changed since then.

For one thing, my reputation as a porcelain doll went down the gutter. I got into fights with Damien and his goons so often, people finally got it into their heads that I'm a badass. Sometimes, it's to defend Shizu. Sometimes, it's to defend some other nerd he decided would be easier prey. Even if I got in trouble a lot for it, I have no regrets. I'm never going back to the days when I used to standby doing nothing while letting others do what I think is wrong. Even after Damien stopped joining in those fights and just left it to his goons, I never stopped picking fights with them whenever I see them bullying others. Finally! Something I'm good at!

There was one time when Damien started the fight by cutting off one of my pigtails. Papa nearly fainted when I went home that day. Mama just shrugged and cut off the other one. I never went back to pigtails since. As I got older, I stopped wearing dresses and started dressing more like Mama and Gav. For my thirteenth birthday, Mama and Papa finally let me get an extra pair of piercings on my left ear just because I thought it was cool. For my fourteenth, Grampa sent me a pair of combat boots. Last Christmas, Kaji got me a pair of silver headphones for Secret Santa. I look nothing like the doll-like princess of jewelry people used to admire me as. I never wanted to go back to that.

I'm no longer the Jewelry Princess only to be admired from afar. I'm a strong fighter who can protect herself and others…

The minute I saw the names of the people Shizu's grouped with, I knew I had to be there.

0-0-0-0-0

Notes:

Before anyone asks and points out this minor inconsistency, the reason Shizuke didn't butcher Fiona's last name, Kuznetsov, was because he had a lot of practice with it around Damien – who had a bit of a crush on Fiona at the time. He was 'friends' with Damien for like, almost five months, so I'm sure he would've been able to pronounce that right by the time Fiona confronts him. The reason why he butchered her name later on was because of the context of their meeting then. This time, he's meeting her as a friend and she just saved his butt. And the fact that he had a bit of a crush on her at the time didn't help.

Yes, the "Mr. Ross" here is the same teacher from Chapter 1 and he's currently the main protags' homeroom teacher as well as their social studies/history teacher.


	9. 2-2 Bully Hunter

**CHAPTER 9: JOINING THEM IS HARD WHEN THEY'RE NOT LETTING YOU**

(If you can't beat them, join them)

 **Shizuke**

Cuff Links? Check.

Cookies? Check.

Phone? Check.

Teaching materials? Check.

I sat on the side of my bed with my backpack open as I tallied everything I'm going to need for the day.

"Are you sure you're not forgetting something?" said Tikki.

"Huh?" I scrunched my nose in concentration. I'm pretty sure I double checked everything…

Tikki flew over to my nightstand and put my glasses on my face.

"Oh. Right," I fixed my fake glasses on my face and smiled at my kwami. "Thanks, Tikki. It's been almost five months and I still keep forgetting about that."

Ever since I got my miraculous, my eyesight was fixed and I no longer need my glasses. But since I've been wearing them for so long and my eyesight used to be so bad I was practically blind without them, people will surely ask questions if I suddenly stopped wearing them. I've learned that it's best that the less there is to question, the less I have to lie.

"You're welcome," Tikki said with mild amusement.

I lifted up my bag, feeling its weight for a bit to get used to it. I paced around my room, going through everything I might have missed.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. You've been planning this lesson for a week," Tikki encouraged.

"I know. It's just this is my first time teaching a bunch of kids, and my groupmates aren't… ideal."

"It'll work out. You said so yourself, Damien and Natalia are good at Art, so it might not be so bad."

"It's not their skills I'm worried about. Out of everyone in our year level, I'd say they're among the most talented. It's just that _we don't get along_."

And that's an understatement.

"You and Chat Noire didn't get along at first, but now you're-"

I felt my heart beat rise at Tikki's analogy. "It's not the same!"

"Yeah right," Tikki giggled as I tried to push Chat Noire out of my head and control the redness of my face. I've never told Tikki about my past. It's not something I like to think about, much less talk about.

"My situation with Chat Noire was nowhere near as bad as Damien and Natalia. At least Chat Noire was willing to cooperate."

"It is if you have the perspectives switched. Why not take a page out of Chat Noire's book and be the first to give the others a chance?"

"It's not that easy, Tikki. Unlike with Chat Noire, we have a bad history together. With Natalia, I don't know what her problem is. We just never got along and she always hated me. With Damien… I don't think I can just forgive him and act as if none of it happened…"

Third grade was a horrible time for me. I was a new kid at a new country where I can barely speak the native language. No one wanted to talk to me except Damien. I thought he was my friend but I was actually more of a servant to him. He always made me doubt myself, my worth, told me I should be grateful to be his friend because no one else would want to be friends with me...

I clenched my fists to calm myself down. Fuyu already got me out of that toxic friendship. There's no need for me to keep thinking back to those days. While he never apologized, he hasn't bothered me in years, and we've never been in the same class since third grade. I have better friends now, even if one of them is crazy enough to jump at akumas whenever he gets the chance.

"I'm not saying you have to forgive them," Tikki gently said. "Forgiving isn't easy. Just don't close off all chances for it, if only for your own sake. Holding on to grudges isn't good for anyone."

"That's something to consider. But maybe in the distant future when they're not actively trying to be difficult around me."

"I'm sure the three of you could reach a truce, if only for this task."

"… Okay. Even if we never truly get along, I'll try to get a decent working relationship with them."

"SHIZUKE! BREAKFAST IS READY!" my grandmother yelled from the kitchen.

My stomach growled at the smell of grandmother's omelets wafting through the door.

"COMING GRANDMA!" I yelled back.

"No time to waste worrying about the rest of the day. Just go out there and do it," Tikki said before zooming into my bag.

"I've got a busy day ahead of me. I'll do my best!" I muttered to get myself pumped up before leaving my room.

0-0-0-0-0

Xyril Tech is a prestigious school in Helios. It has an elementary, a junior high school, and a senior high school department that holds two to three hundred students in each year level divided into six classes. The funding put into it allowed it to have several great facilities: state of the art equipment, laboratories, a theatre building, libraries, gymnasiums, swimming pools, various fields dedicated to sports, and even its very own clock tower at the very center of the school grounds.

The school's founder who values bonds and education started a tradition called Education Week. Every year in the first week of February, students from the more advanced department get to teach students from the lower years for a day. Just yesterday, students from the senior high school department taught us students from the junior high school department. Today, it's us from the junior high school department teacher students from the elementary department. The founder believed it to be conducive to learning if the students get to be in the teachers' shoes – at least, that's what Kaji told me when I asked the reasoning behind this school's tradition.

All the student teachers are volunteers and are often grouped by threes for each class they're assigned to. As this activity gives extra credits for the participants, I had to volunteer. With all the absences I had to take because of hero work, I'm going to need to stock up on all the extra credits I can get if I want to keep my scholarship. I just have to brave through the day with two of my least favorite people in school.

"You don't have to come, Fuyu. I'll be fine," I insisted, but the petite pink haired girl stubbornly walked by my side and refused to let go of my teaching materials.

I was walking towards the elementary department when Fuyu snatched my bag and insisted she came along 'just in case'. So now we're here, making our way down to my class on this bright, almost-Spring day, walking down an old cobblestone path surrounded by a lush garden partially covered with snow.

"You'll be alone with your childhood bully and his new sidekick in a room full of screaming children. I don't know about you Shizu, but that looks like a disaster waiting to happen."

That's exactly how I saw it this morning too. But Tikki's optimism is contagious and I won't get anywhere if I keep letting my doubts bring me down.

"I'm sure we can set aside our differences for the task ahead."

Fuyu eyed me with her critical icy blue gaze. "Huh. You're handling this better than I thought you would."

"So would you please let me handle this on my own?"

"I'm still not fully convinced."

"Fuuuyuuu."

Fuyu shuffled my bag so she can punch me in the arm, making me wince in mild pain. To her, this is a 'gentle nudge'. "I'm just looking out for you, stupid nerd."

She can be such a tsundere sometimes.

"But what about Kaji? He's grouped with…" I looked around our surroundings; nothing but trees and an empty stone pathway towards the elementary department's playground. All clear. But I still lowered my voice just in case someone overhears. "He's grouped with _Hawkmoth_."

Kaji also volunteered, but sadly he wasn't assigned as my groupmate. He's with the twins. Why couldn't I trade one of my groupmates for Kaji? It's because the teachers said so and not even Kaji's 'Mayor's Son' powers could persuade them to change it.

"Shizu, I've been considering that for a while now, but I'm starting to agree with Kaji. Blair's probably not Hawkmoth."

"Wha- I thought you were on MY side on this!"

"I was, but then I thought: What kind of supervillain would sabotage her own akuma? You saw the Stud Muffin incident. She even had the perfect chance to snatch Ladybug's Miraculous but she took the first chance she could to get away from him. She seemed awfully proud of herself for that, nothing like a villain who once again failed to get the Miraculous."

"It could all be a manipulation tactic to get us to trust her!"

"Why would she need to get _our_ trust?"

"Because of the Ladyblog? Kaji does get to interview the heroes a lot. She's just waiting for an opportunity to tag along with Kaji the next time he interviews the heroes."

"Then why is she flirting with _you_ and not Kaji?"

"Uhm…" I looked around the area before whispering in an even lower voice, "Because of my akuma chart?"

If Blair is Hawkmoth, she might very well be suspecting me to be Ladybug. Times like these, I find it really frustrating that I can't just tell Fuyu who I am. But I know the risks and it's not worth it so I'll keep hiding the fact that I'm Ladybug for now.

"Now why would she need a list of the villains she supposedly made herself?"

"To uh… See if I might figure out her secret identity with it? Or if I could map out her evil lair? Maybe she's trying to-"

"If that's the case, then she wouldn't need to see your chart to know she has to shake up her attack pattern to throw you off. Face it Shizu, the girl just has a weird crush on you."

"But Fuyu!" I bit my tongue when I realized I was yelling. Again. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and managed to keep my voice just low enough to count as a whisper. "It can't be a coincidence! Akumas appear where she's supposed to be almost all the time, and yet she's almost always never found!"

Fuyu let out a ragged sigh. "We've been over this. She's probably doing the smart thing during the akuma attacks and hid like a normal powerless civilian. Just like you always do."

"Y-yes. I hide well. That's what I do. Staying away from danger. That's me."

Fuyu's piercing gaze narrowed at me with suspicion. "Or were you?"

"Civilians should not get themselves involved when it comes to akuma! It's not safe! It's common sense!" I yelled at the top of my lungs to push my point.

Fuyu's gaze softened, "… I wish Kaji had common sense."

"Same," I said in a much quieter voice. I don't have to lie for this one.

Up ahead was the elementary department's playground. The snow-covered shrubs surrounding it, the creaky swing set, the rusty seesaw, the monkey bars, the stone elephant slide – it's just as I remembered it, but it seems smaller. The cobblestone path feels much shorter than I remember… Everything doesn't look as big as it used to. It's been a while since I've been here.

I thought we'd have more time, but we're almost there. There's no getting rid of Fuyu now. It's actually a small comfort to have her around. With Tikki in my sweater vest pocket and Fuyu standing nearby, I'm surer than ever that I'll get through this!

0-0-0-0-0

Approaching my assigned classroom, I spotted a teacher talking to a blonde girl dressed in a short black-striped white sundress and a knitted yellow cardigan. Standing quietly next to her was a large brown skinned boy with spiky black hair wearing a black band shirt and a pair of khaki cargo pants. My groupmates.

I shuddered in place. Fuyu nudged me at my side, reminding me of her presence. I ignored the smug look on her face and powerwalked towards my group.

"Just stick to the lesson plan I left you, okay?"

Damien curtly nodded, his spiky black hair swaying a bit with his head. "Yes, sir."

"You can count on us," Natalia flashed a smile as sweet as honey, looking like the nicest girl in the world. I'm not fooled. I knew better.

"Good. Now, where is your groupmate?"

"I'm here!" I announced my presence. "I brought all the materials for the lesson."

Fuyu, knowing her cue, presented the bag bursting with an assortment of different colored yarns and beads for everyone to see. Damien took the bag from her and he and Natalia discussed the lesson plan.

The teacher looked skeptical at her presence. "Who's this?"

Oh right, I haven't told the teacher about Fuyu joining us. "This is my friend, Fiona Kuznetsov. She's just here to-"

"Ah!" the teacher's eyes brightened with recognition. He bounced over to her and vigorously shook her hand. "You're the daughter of the famous jewelry designer! I'm a huge fan of your father's work! What's it like having him for a father? I taught your older brother a few years back and he was the best student I've ever had. Surely some of their talents rubbed off on you. Are you here to help them teach art?"

"Uh…" Fuyu took a step away from the excited teacher, wrung her hand out of his grip, and tried her best to avoid his gaze without looking rude. His onslaught of questions could leave anyone in a daze, but that's not what's making her skittish.

Fuyu is the daughter of Feodor Kuznetsov, the top jewelry designer of the internationally famous formal wear company, _Hera_. He's also married to a talented tattoo artist who runs a successful tattoo and piercings shop. With those kinds of parents, people tend to assume both of their kids are gifted in arts and crafts. Too bad her older brother took all of the artistic genes and didn't leave a drop for poor Fuyu.

Fuyu tried to correct him on her reason for staying here, but the teacher is too happy with the assumption to hear her protests.

"Great! I'll go tell the kids they're getting an extra special teacher today! Be right back!"

The teacher disappeared behind the door, excitedly muttering something about shaking hands with the Jewelry Princess, leaving the four of us to ourselves.

Natalia dropped her sweet smile in favor of a venomous scowl. What a two-face. "Great. Just what we need. Another art flunky."

Before I can say anything in our defense, Fuyu strode forward with a low growl. I grabbed her arm to prevent her from getting any closer to the annoying blonde. As much as I dislike Natalia, she probably doesn't deserve a punch to the face for that jab- even if it's a personal jab. A very personal jab that hurt my best friend's feelings. I shook my head to stop thinking of reasons to sic Fuyu on the blonde jerk and pulled Fuyu back.

Fuyu shot an icy cold glare at me, but I stood firm.

"Fuyu, she's not worth it. Calm down."

Fuyu ignored me and redirected her icy glare towards Natalia.

"You stupid blonde bimbo…" Fuyu glowered. "At least I'm not dumb enough to mix yellow with white. What an eyesore!"

"Why you little punk midget-"

"Say that again and I'll tear you a new one!" Fuyu growled, the jab on her height taking her anger to a new level. I'm barely holding her back at this point.

Natalia's eyes glinted in challenge and slowly said, "Why you TINY ITTY BITTY LITTLE PUNK MIDGET!"

Fuyu broke free of my hold with a roar and charged towards Natalia. To Natalia's credit, she didn't even flinch even though we all knew she had no fighting skills whatsoever.

"Enough!" Damien got between the two girls, preventing Fuyu from taking another step. The boy is a mountain of bulk that blocked Natalia from our view. While Damien may be almost half a meter taller than Fuyu, that doesn't scare her. Her icy glare met his steady gaze, neither backing off.

"Students, it's time!" the teacher chimed. He was all smiles until he saw the four of us. "Is everything alright…?"

Natalia instantly reapplies her good girl act and smiles at the teacher. "Everything's alright sir, we were just discussing the lesson plan to the new addition as Shizuke neglected to inform her."

"Oh," that simple remark is dripping with disappointment.

This time, it was Fuyu who's stopping me from lunging at the obnoxious blonde. The teacher didn't notice our struggle because Damien's stocky build is conveniently blocking the view.

"Alright then. When you get everything settled, you can begin the lesson. Good luck!"

And the teacher left us with his class.

"We're not actually going to let her teach, are we?" Natalia pointed at Fuyu with a tone of disgust, not even looking at us.

"If you have something to say, tell it straight to our faces!" I scolded, but they acted like they didn't hear us.

Damien shrugged. "If she doesn't at least try, the students will surely talk."

"So what? She's not even a volunteer," Natalia continued talking to Damien as if Fuyu and I aren't here.

"Stop ignoring us! That's rude!" I yelled.

"Then what if the kids force her to teach them? The teacher already gave her some hype," Damien said as he continued to ignore my existence as usual.

"Then we stop her from punching the little twerps out of annoyance," Natalia swept her long blonde hair behind an ear. "We shouldn't let her throw our extra credits out the window."

"We can still hear you, you jerks!" Fuyu said, glaring at them.

"Good point," Damien said.

"It's bad enough we've got Shizu-can't-keep-my-mouth-shut Midorikawa on our team. What does he know about art? The only art he can do are those numbered coloring books for pre-schoolers."

"Let's just start the lesson!" I said, having enough of them bad mouthing me, acting like I'm not around to hear them. I dragged Fuyu with me as I made my way past the two jerks and entered the classroom.

I was greeted with the sight of chaos.

Paint was splattered everywhere, paper airplanes were flying in the air, children were screaming, jumping on tables, and throwing balls of paper and paint at each other, and there was one curly haired boy crying in the corner.

I almost felt like joining the boy. But I have to be strong. DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN!

"Children! May I have your attention, please?!"

They continued to wail at each other. So it's a 'no' then.

Fuyu slammed her fist onto the teacher's desk to gain their attention. "HEY!"

Still a 'no'.

"WILL YOU RUGRATS SHUT THE FUDGE UP?!" yelled Natalia, entering the room with her face contorted in anger. Damien was looking effortlessly intimidating by her side.

The children finally stopped.

Natalia rewarded them with a sickeningly sweet but obviously fake smile.

"Good children," Natalia strode towards the board, writing the words 'Woven Bracelets' in colorful chalk. She wrote each letter in a different style with different colored chalk, all still neat and legible. I still hate her, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate good penmanship when I see it.

"Okay class," Damien said, taking over the introductions. "I'm Damien Guerrero, and this is Natalia Hale. We're here to teach you how to make bracelets."

And now they're pretending I'm not even here. I shouldn't have expected any better.

"So you little snot-nosed brats better pay attention," Natalia said, her words not matching that sweet smile on her face.

I prayed to every god I knew to please give me the strength I will need to get through the day.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Blair**

Ah, Education Week. It's that time of the year where teachers can sit back, relax, and watch students make a fool of themselves as they take over their jobs for a week. And the reward? Extra credit. That's it. Which is great for nerds and the flunkies who need it, but not so great for those who are perfectly content with just getting by on average grades and not repeating another year.

Take us for example.

"Just one more lap kiddies, and it's free time for the rest of the period!" Keagan yelled from the bleachers as the class ran in the track field.

"You guys sure this is okay?" Blake asked while looking like a hypocrite by joining us in the bleachers with a cold can of soda.

"Sure it is. No one takes Gym class seriously anyway," I laid down on the bleachers with my arms crossed behind my head as I basked under the bright midmorning sun.

The three of us are here against our will. Keagan's here because he's the mayor's son and volunteering to teach kids makes good press (even though he's actually slacking off). My brother and I are here because of _Aphrodite_ , the company in charge of paying for our tuition so long as we join every school activity decked in her clothes. Together, the three of us form team compulsory.

It's not so bad. We just get Gym for most of the morning, I'll leave the history lessons to Blake, and then there's Science, English, and Math in the afternoon.

Our sunbathing time was cut off when we heard cries from the other end of the track field. The kids were crowding around one corner. We ran as fast as we can towards them. From what I can pick out, one of them fainted.

"Settle down kids," I said with authority as I parted the crowd.

The kids obediently quieted down to whispers. There, lying on the grass in the middle was the smallest boy in class. He's a skinny little boy with light silvery hair. His pale skin has gone red and he was breathing heavily.

The drama club could sure use a kid like him.

Blake kneeled down and lifted the kid just enough to sit upright. "You okay, Zephyr?"

The boy, Zephyr, looked up at him with a dazed look. "I'm fine, uh… Miss Blair, right?"

"Close enough," Blake said, completely deadpan.

"Blake, take him to the clinic," I said, managing not to smirk as the little boy subtly winked at me. "Keagan and I can take over."

Keagan eagerly nodded. "Yeah, Blake. Don't worry about us. We can handle it."

Blake shot us a dubious look but didn't argue. He wrapped one arm around Zephyr's back and his other arm around the boy's legs. With a huff, he lifted Zephyr off the ground. He said to the group of children, "Any of you know where the clinic is?"

After one girl volunteered, a curious little girl with dirty blonde pigtails, Keagan and I declared the rest of Gym to be free period.

"Try not to get heatstroke kidlets!" I called after them, as they ran off across the field.

Now that our paid little con artist has taken my brother out of hearing range, Keagan and I can finally get back to business. I turned to my partner-in-crime for the day.

"So I hear Natalia's in the same group as Shizuke. You got their sched, right?"

Keagan flashed his trademark shipping grin. For once, I'm not annoyed to see it.

"Oh yeah. Let's get this ship sailing!"

0-0-0-0-0

 **Shizuke**

The lesson went on with little trouble. With Damien's natural talent for intimidation, none of the kids dared invoke the giant's wrath. It's either that or Natalia is a creature that both scares them with her sharp tongue and confuses them with her honey sweet smile.

"And that's how you make a basic bracelet," said Natalia, showing off her pink friendship bracelet. "Now, I'll teach you a more complex pattern."

I wasn't able to teach, and it's not for lack of trying. Natalia spoke louder and shoves me aside whenever I tried to lecture. Damien continued to pretend I didn't exist. Together, they completely hogged the lesson.

Fuyu is patting me on the back in a silent show of support. Since they're never going to give me a turn, I decided to make myself useful and clean up the mess the kids made. Fuyu and I grabbed a couple of wet rags and started wiping off the paint on the back wall.

"Uhm… Excuse me?"

One of the kids approached us in our sad little corner. It was that curly haired boy who was crying earlier. The little boy was looking down at the floor, his curly black hair covering half of his brown face, and his ears were burning red. I was going to ask him if there's something wrong when he shoved his little hands out from behind his back and presented us with yarn strings of different colors and wooden beads.

"M-m-my name's Dylan. P-p-please… Please help me make a bracelet for my big brother," he squeaked, raising his head to face us.

Finally! A chance to get some teaching experience!

"Oh, sure! I'll be happy to-"

"I want to make the very b-b-bestest bracelet for him, a-and who better to help than the Jewelry Princess!"

All my hopes were instantly sunk.

Fuyu's eye was twitching with annoyance at her hated nickname, but she held it all in if only because this is a child she's talking to and he didn't know any better.

"I'm sorry, you got it all wrong. I'm not here to teach."

Dylan's posture sagged down. His gaze looked away from us, clearly crestfallen. It felt like we just kicked a puppy. "Oh. I'm sorry to bother you…"

"Wait!" I called out to stop the boy from returning to his seat.

Dylan looked back at us with a face that seems to be trying to look neutral but only looks even sadder.

"I can help you!"

"Really?" he asked, hope sparkling in his brown eyes the way Kaji's does whenever Ladybug and Chat Noire agrees to do an interview. Good thing I was planning to say yes anyway.

I pulled out a sample of my work. While nowhere near as intricate as the ones Natalia is currently making, it's a simple design with every thread woven tightly. "I prepared for this lesson, and I think I could do a decent job teaching you the basics."

The little boy examined my work. Pride welled up in my chest to see him impressed with my handiwork. The boy gave me a small smile. "I think it's good. Please teach me."

Natalia can have the rest of the class if she wants! I got the nicest kid in the room to teach!

0-0-0-0-0

Half an hour went by teaching the shy little boy how to make a bracelet. From time to time, kids would to ask for _Fuyu's_ help in making bracelets but wouldn't let _me_ teach them. They thought Fuyu's giving tips. Fuyu promptly shooed them away. We planned the pattern, Fuyu dropping dry commentary from time to time, and we braided the strings tightly with the beads carefully woven in equal distance from each other.

"Now tie this nice and tightly over here, and there you go! It's done!"

And the end result is… Is it really a bracelet? How huge is his brother's wrist anyway? Fuyu could wear that bracelet as a choker!

"It's finished! We did it!" Dylan exclaimed as he raised the red and blue bracelet for us to see, looking just about ready to cry.

Oh well. The kid's happy. All's well that ends well.

I beamed with pride and ruffled the boy's curly hair. "Your big brother would love it!"

"You think so?" Dylan asked, sounding doubtful yet hopeful at the same time. My heart felt a tug at this. I can so relate to this kid.

I emulated Chat Noire's confidence and said, "I know so."

"Thanks, uh…" Dylan sheepishly scratched his cheek. "I never got your name."

"My name is Shizuke. Shizuke Midorikawa."

Dylan hummed. "That name sounds familiar… Where have I heard it before?"

"Maybe you heard it from the other times he volunteered for this teaching tradition? He does this every year since junior high," Fuyu suggested.

The boy scrunched up his brows in concentration, before shrugging and going with Fuyu's answer. For some reason, my stomach felt queasy. I get the feeling that there's more to it than that.

My instincts alerted me that someone is watching me.

From across the room, Damien was staring at our table. That's strange. For the past six years, he's been perfectly content pretending I don't exist. As soon as our eyes met, he looked away.

What was that about?

0-0-0-0-0


	10. 2-3 Bully Hunter

**CHAPTER 10: HATE CAN BE JUST AS BLIND AS LOVE**

(Love is blind)

 **Blair**

While Blake is busy taking the kid I bribed to the clinic, I'm out here on an errand to fetch my potential future sister-in-law. According to Keagan, Natalia's group is in the science lab, which is only like two rooms away, right next to the bathrooms.

"And remember children, don't try any of this at home, or else you'll burn your house to the ground," Natalia finished her lesson with a flourish.

Peeking into the room, I find it odd that Natalia and Damien are teaching the lesson while Shizuke's just quietly mopping the floor. Oh, and Fiona's there too, glaring daggers at Natalia and Damien. Keagan told me they're not on friendly terms, but I didn't think it would stop Shizuke from teaching kids like he's been raving on about last week.

But heh, not my problem.

I went in the ladies' room and hid in a stall. It's only five minutes 'til dismissal and knowing Natalia, she'd go straight to the nearest mirror as soon as the bell rings. That's when I'll casually walk up to her, chat for a bit, then ask her to join us for lunch.

"This is too much work. Why don't you just text her?" Plagg whined, his head popping out of my purse.

I shoved the kwami back down. "Because Plagg, I don't want her catching on to my plans."

"Meh. If your brother is as hot as people say he is, he shouldn't have a problem asking her out."

"Well unfortunately, my brother has a tendency to chicken out whenever he tries to ask her out himself. Haven't you been listening whenever he moons about how hopeless he is around her?"

Plagg picked his ear. I didn't think he can reach them with those stubby little arms, but he's actually doing it. "My ears automatically tuned him out. Centuries of having lovesick idiots for charges made me develop that reflex."

"How I wish I can do that too."

While I'd take a bullet for him in a heartbeat, there's only so much pining I am willing to put up with from my _dearest_ brother.

The bell rang, signalling the start of lunch break. Not long after, the door creaked open and I saw just the person I was waiting for. I flushed the toilet, walked out of the stall and pretended to be surprised when I saw her.

"Oh, hey 'Talia! It's been a while!"

Natalia pulled her eyes off the mirror and plastered on her standard friendly smile for me. "Hello, Blair."

"Fancy meeting you here."

"Well, we're both assigned in the same building, so we're bound to meet at some point," Natalia said, in that know-it-all tone like she's reciting trivia to children.

"How do you know?" I asked, easing us into small talk before I go in for the kill.

"Shizuke won't stop complaining about how he wishes he can switch places with you twins so he can be teaching History with Keagan instead," she huffs, blowing her bangs up. She went back to fixing her hair in the mirror and continued her rant. "The weirdo thinks we can't hear him mumbling about it out loud as he mopped the floor right next to us. I swear his parents must've dropped him when he was a baby and his brain-to-mouth filter never fully recovered."

Well, at least the guy's honest. If there's one thing I don't like about Natalia, it's her 'two-face-iness'. It's something she developed at some point during puberty. But Blakey still likes her, warts and all. And she's not that bad, once you get to know her. Like, really get to know her. It gets easier once you can tell apart her jokes from her insults.

"Speaking of, I heard some crazy rumors floating about how you're interested in that nerd," Natalia laughed so hard, she was clutching her stomach. "Crazy, isn't it? As if you'd go for a guy like him! You have better taste than _that_!"

Oh 'Talia, if only you knew. Honestly, I'm not quite sure if I like Shizuke that way. He's always fun to tease, and I'd like us to hang out for reals, but is that enough to count as a crush? I'm not entirely opposed to the possibility but… Wait a minute, this is a good opening! Time to put my modelling skills to good use!

"Hahaha. Now that you mention it…" I said, willing my cheeks to fluster as I try to look coy. I can imagine what that photographer from the other day would say: _'That's it,_ seniorita _! Smile like a pure maiden experiencing_ amor _for the very first time'_.

Natalia looked scandalized. "No way."

 _Hook._

I nodded with a dopey grin. "Tee hee."

Natalia's gaping mouth morphed into a frown full of grim determination. "Girl! We. Have. Got. To. Talk. About. THIS."

 _Line._

"Sure thing."

Natalia hooked her arm around mine and practically dragged me out towards the cafeteria. "Let's have lunch together! I'll even treat you!"

 _Sinker._

Nothing lures Natalia in like a love story. The girl's such a hopeless romantic, almost as bad as Keagan. I didn't even have to invite her to have lunch with us if I had a good love story to bait her with.

Operation TaliaBlake is a go!

0-0-0-0-0

 **Shizuke**

Much to my relief, Natalia didn't return from fixing her makeup when the lunch bell rang. Damien and the kids ran out of the lab, leaving a mess for me to clean up. Sigh… So much for working together as a group. At least Fuyu's here to help me. She's cleaning the white board while I'm wiping the desks.

I heard the clinking of glass, so I looked around the room and spotted Dylan putting the used beakers into a tray.

"You don't have to do this," I said as I took the tray of beakers out of his hand and placed it into the sink. "Didn't you say you were gonna meet up with your brother for lunch?"

"B-but I want to help you," Dylan insisted with puppy dog eyes. "It's the least I could do after you helped me make that bracelet."

Aww… He's such a nice kid.

"Okay, fine. The more of us cleaning up, the faster we finish. Just be careful, alright?"

Dylan nodded eagerly and went to work. Whoever has this kid for a younger brother sure is lucky.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Blair**

"Hey guys! Look who's joining us!"

Keagan and Blake looked up from their respective phones to see the guest of honor this lunch.

"'T-T-Talia?!" Blake's face was growing redder with each step Natalia took to our lunch table.

"Hey Blake!" Natalia cheerfully waved and then she noticed our other guest and gave him a stiff smile. "Keagan."

Should I take her lack of enthusiasm in greeting the school prince as a good sign? Like, I should be happy that princey here isn't gonna be a love rival even though he's kinda her type?

The school prince himself threw an equally artificial smile at her.

"Hello to you too, Natalia."

Is passive-aggressive anger a running trend among Shizuke's group of friends? Then again, Keagan was pretty thrilled at setting up Blake and Natalia, so I don't think he's holding a serious grudge against her.

I sat myself next to Keagan so Natalia will have no choice but to share a bench with Blake. Natalia looked like she was about to start grilling me about my love life, but Blake beat her to it by standing up and grabbing me by the arm.

"Excuse us," he said as he dragged me away from the lunch table.

"WHY?! What do you need to talk about that can't wait 'til later?" Natalia whined, upset that her latest source of love gossip is slipping away.

Blake shot Natalia his best poker face.

I shot Natalia my usual grin.

"Twinly matters," we said at the same time in completely different tones.

0-0-0-0-0

Once we ducked into a corner, Blake glared at me.

"What are you scheming?" he said with narrowed emerald eyes that could've intimidated anybody. But I'm not just anybody so I just I shrugged.

"I'm just giving you the golden opportunity to ask out the girl of your dreams, bro."

Blake's eyes narrowed even more. "No."

I pouted. "Why not? I'm an awesome wingwoman!"

"Remember the last time you tried to set us up?"

Oh I remember it like it was yesterday…

0-0-0-0-0

 _Two months ago…_

" _Thanks for coming here to help us 'Talia! You're a real life saver!" I said, ushering the blonde girl into the Liungs' apartment._

" _It's no big deal. Science is my best subject and I'm always happy to help a friend," Natalia cheerfully said._

 _I resisted the urge to smirk. I may not be the best at that subject, but I'm not bad enough that I need a tutor. No, she's here for something much more important._

" _C'mon! I have everything prepared for our group study."_

 _We went into a room that looked identical to mine… except where I had a mini-fridge and a shelf of action figures on display, this room had two bookshelves full of comic books. I let her settle down on the woollen rug with plenty of pillows I threw in at the last minute and laid out her coat over Blake's bed. Everything is set. Blake should be coming up here in 3… 2… 1…_

" _Blair! Where did you hide my clothes?! This isn't funny!" Blake's shouts can be heard from outside before he slammed the door open, stomping into his room soaking wet and wearing nothing but a towel, completely oblivious to Natalia who was sitting in a corner turning redder by the minute while biting back her 'squee'. "Natalia could be here any minute and I'm not even-"_

 _Blake paused when he noticed a very pink and very girly coat spread out on his bed that can't possibly belong to moi. He turned around and spotted Natalia, standing there gaping at him, her face as red as our hair. As embarrassment and mortification was fighting for dominance over his face, his grip on reality loosened as well as his grip on his towel._

 _Natalia squeaked and blocked her eyes. Or rather, that's what she was trying to do but forgot to close the gap between her fingers that's wide enough to let her see my half-naked brother anyway._

 _Luckily for me (and maybe unfortunately for Natalia), Blake remembered where he is and managed to salvage the last scrap of his decency._

 _I broke the long and awkward silence by saying, "I'm just gonna go get us some snacks."_

" _Let me help you!" Natalia squeaked, scurrying out of the room to follow me._

 _For the rest of the study session, Blake and Natalia couldn't look each other in the eye, blushing madly whenever they so much as hear the other speak. In a twisted sort of way, my plan worked. There's no denying there's a spark there. This is the beginning of my brother's rom-com!_

0-0-0-0-0

"Look on the bright side; now she knows your abs from last year's summer swimsuit collection weren't Photoshopped,~" I gave my bro my best optimistic smile and a pair of finger guns.

Blake merely rolled his eyes at my teasing. "And what exactly does that achieve?"

I grinned like a Cheshire Cat at my poor clueless twin brother.

"To get the ball rolling. Because you're too chicken to ask her out yourself, I'll give her reasons to consider asking you out instead."

"Clearly, nothing came out of that ploy."

"Really, bro? That was actually the most progress you made in months."

Blake was about to retort when I went on to explain why I'm right and he's wrong.

"She seems attracted to you, even if it's just your looks. Shallow, I know, but isn't that where it starts for most people? You can worry about deepening your reasons when you actually have a relationship to make a fuss about."

Blake stood quietly, taking a minute or two to mull over my words. Then he finally said, "Since when are you a love expert?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, I'm no love expert. But I know that like in anything else unrelated to love, you won't get anywhere if you don't take any steps towards it."

Blake looked like he wanted to fight me more, if only for his pride as the 'wiser twin'. But logic was on my side and he gave in. "… Fine. I see your point."

"Great! Watching you moon about her but not do anything was getting old. So for my new plan, I had to enlist some help…"

Blake gave me an unimpressed look. "Who did you get?"

"Keagan."

Blake made a sourpuss face. "So you told him about my crush on Natalia?"

"Yep."

"And by proxy, Fiona and Shizuke know too."

"Probably."

Blake let out a long suffering sigh before returning us to our lunch table.

0-0-0-0-0

Things were going smoothly… Until they were not.

As soon as we returned, Natalia bombarded me with questions about my feelings for Shizuke. Keagan was putting on a good act by happily taking notes on my so-called crush on his best friend. At least, I hope it's an act. I did warn him that my crush on Shizuke is just a ruse. Blake only pretended to pay attention to his _dearest_ sister's love crisis while rolling his eyes for every sappy remark I made. Natalia kept saying I've lost my mind to be crushing on that nerd, very disapproving of our possible connection despite how interested she is about my love life and kept asking for more details.

"It's a novelty experience," Natalia explained.

Blake quietly nodded in agreement with a dry look on his face. I tilted my head in confusion.

"Huh?"

"It's not every day I could get you to talk about boys with me, even if the boy in question leaves a lot to be desired," Natalia huffed, oblivious to Keagan's frown at the shade thrown at his friend. "You sure you don't want me to help you look for someone cooler? I know a few guys who are interested..."

"No. Just no," I firmly said, leaving no room for questions.

"Wait, wait, wait," Keagan butted in. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've never had a crush before?"

"Pretty much," I said with an eye roll.

"Not even a celebrity crush?"

I shook my head.

"How about superheroes? Don't you think Ladybug has the cutest butt?"

I snorted. "What's so cute about butts? I don't get it."

This is just like that time I was utterly confused when some girls in the comics named Dick Grayson's butt cheeks 'Jim' and 'Juan'. Yeah, they each get separate names. Weird.

"How about Chat Noire? She's hot."

"Please. I'm way hotter," I said on reflex whenever anyone mentions another girl is hot to my face. Blair, what are you even saying?! _You're_ Chat Noire!

Blake snorted to the side. I stuck my tongue out at him like a child. Natalia was giggling at our antics. Glad to see someone finds this amusing.

Keagan furrowed his brows at me questioningly. "You're fifteen, right?"

"Sixteen."

Keagan was looking at me with disbelief. "Seriously? You never found anyone even mildly attractive at this age?"

"Besides Shizuke? No. My orientation is now officially Shizuke-sexual," I flatly said, shooting him a glare as his cue to stop before he ruins my Talia-bait. "Happy?"

Schooling his features, Keagan muttered a whiney, "Happy."

When that line of questioning died down, I shifted the conversation towards catching up with her. Then Keagan and I could weave in stuff about Blake and talk him up for her. I thought talking about Christmas break was an innocent subject.

I. Was. Wrong.

"My prince gave me this headband last Christmas! Isn't it cute?!" Natalia tilted her head to show us a glossy black headband adorned with a cute little white bow on the side.

I heard my brother choke. I ignored him and kept my eyes locked with Natalia's so she wouldn't notice his pitiful face. I entrust Keagan to take care of him for me.

"Last Christmas? Prince? Do I know this guy?" I pressed.

No time to cry over spilt milk. Better gather as much info as I can about my brother's love rival to assess how much of a threat he is and figure out what's the best course of action.

Natalia was practically bouncing in her seat as she giddily spilled all the info I asked for and more. "I'm not sure if you've met him, he's a model just like you. He's also a freshman from the senior high school department. He's gorgeous! We met at a costume party last Halloween. I was a princess and he was a prince. We really hit it off. He's so sweet, smart, and handsome! Like a true prince out of a fairy tale book! It wasn't long before we started dating. He asked me out by the Ashworth Castle's fireworks display last month. It was so beautiful! It was snowing that time, the fireworks bursting like blooming flowers in the sky and the lights were reflecting off the snow in a way that made it look like the stars were falling, then he pulled out a colourful bouquet of roses and… Kyaaaaa! So romantic!"

The rest of her romantic spiel was spoken in gibberish. She's stuck in her own world. She didn't notice how my brother is sinking down with his heart right next to her, failing to put on a brave face. She didn't notice Keagan's eyes ping ponging between the three of us nervously, having the sense to keep quiet lest he further humiliate Blake in front of Natalia. She didn't notice my plastic dining utensils have snapped in half, the only outward sign of my frustration. If an akuma would attack now, I doubt she'd notice it.

I planned for almost anything, except this. It's our fault for not actively keeping in touch with her over the long break. Some friends we were.

My excuse was because being Chat Noire is distracting and the thrill of having superpowers hadn't quite worn off. I spent most of the winter holidays fighting akuma, experimenting with Cataclysm, sparring with Ladybug, and parkouring over the city during my free time.

While Blakey just didn't have the guts to message her. Not even to send a lame cat meme. Because he was taking forever-and-a-half to ask her out, Natalia ended up dating someone else and that someone sounds like he's the perfect Prince Charming-shaped package complete with the confidence to actually ASK HER OUT.

But sadly, my brother doesn't have the guts to ask out a girl who isn't taken, much less steal a girl who just word vomited how in love she is with her boyfriend who sounds too good to be true. Blake would never steal from anyone. This battle is already lost before he even had the courage to step into the battlefield. I should get the cake and ice cream ready tonight.

"Oh, is that Shizu and Fuyu over there? I better go! See you later!" Keagan grabbed his bag of lunch and gracelessly dismissed himself from the awkward mix of Natalia's saccharine love monologue, the sounds of Blake's heart shattering into a million pieces, and my crackling disappointment. He shot us one last pitying glance before running off with his besties. I can't blame him.

At the mention of Shizuke, Natalia stopped her long-winded speech about her prince and her mood instantly soured. She glared after the bespectacled boy and stabbed her fork at her lunch, radiating pure unadulterated loathing.

"Yeesh. The way you're glaring at him, it's like he kicked your puppy out in the rain or something," I said.

"He didn't, but I think he's cruel enough to do that if given the chance."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Somehow, I highly doubt that."

"Take off your rose-tinted glasses and see past that 'nice guy' façade, Blair! I'm telling you, that guy's nothing but a social climber who uses everyone around him then dumps them once they've stopped being useful!"

Psh… Leave it to 'Talia to think I can't tell apart the guys who are only there to use me from the guys who aren't. I'm a model, remember? I deal with those kinds of guys when I'm not doing the same to other models myself. Showbiz is business, nothing personal. I doubt Shizuke could handle a cutthroat world like that.

Letting curiosity get the better of me, I asked her, "And what makes you say that?"

"Damien used to be friends with Shizuke. They were friends for most of third grade. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's a huge softie. And he's rich too, just not as rich as Keagan or Fiona. As soon as Shizuke met those two, he ditched my friend like last season's fashion and never talked again. He couldn't even look at Shizuke without that pained expression on his face."

"… Somehow, I don't think that's the whole story," I scooted a few inches away from Natalia. She looked like she's just about ready to explode.

"Just look at the people he surrounds himself with! He's clearly using them for his own gain!"

Natalia pointed towards the trio, as if that would make her point any clearer. I would've scooted away again, but I don't want to direct her eyes any closer to my semi-dead brother.

"Keagan got him a recommendation into the scholarship program. Perks of being the friend of the mayor's son, didn't have to fight tooth and nail for a spot here like the rest of us," Natalia growled, jealousy rolling off her in waves.

Oh right, she's got a scholarship too and I heard the screening process for the scholarship program was tough… Must be grating on her nerves to see some other kid get in easy when she had to work her butt off to get here.

"Fiona, the little monster, has gotten into a lot of fights with a lot of other delinquents over the years and has never lost. With her by his side, no one would dare bully him."

And thus the legend of Fiona the bully hunter was born. The other students around us were moving away, probably used to Natalia yelling about how much she hates Shizuke. I wish I can join them.

"But what do they get out of him? Nothing! He's not even there for them when they need him the most! You don't see him risking his life around akumas like they do!"

That's one way to interpret their group dynamic. Keagan and Fiona are like school royalty; rich, powerful, and they stand out in a crowd. Shizuke's like a peasant in comparison; lower middle class, average face, and generally unremarkable. If Keagan was the sun and Fiona was the moon, Shizuke's a dingy little street lamp: try as he might to shine, he'll never reach the sky.

It's easy to see where Natalia got that idea from. From what I've observed, that seems to be the general consensus of people outside our class.

I eyed their trio in the distance. Shizuke was nagging at Fiona to eat her vegetables and telling Keagan to put away his phone like an overbearing mom friend. There was a pause before the three of them laughed together for who knew what reason.

"I'm sorry Natalia, I just can't see it."

Natalia groaned, and started muttering to herself in between eating her lunch.

"Stupid love. Making you blind to all his faults."

I could say the same thing about hate making her blind to the obvious, but I know she wouldn't listen. I decided to save my breath. The rest of lunch was spent in silence before we went our separate ways.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Shizuke**

Cleaning the lab took us about ten minutes with the help of Dylan.

Kaji greeted us as we found an empty table and joined us for lunch.

"What were you doing with Natalia?" Fuyu asked, icy blue eyes glaring at my blonde rival.

The twins are one thing. Kaji's actually friends with them and they're in the same group. Fuyu doesn't actually hate them, and I would've been fine with them if Blair wasn't possibly Hawkmoth. But Natalia's a different story. She's not hostile towards Kaji like she is to me, but that doesn't change the fact that Kaji's my friend and she doesn't like it for some reason.

"Blair was trying to set up Natalia with Blake."

Fuyu looked just about ready to say something when Kaji held up his hands defensively and rushed to explain himself.

"Hey, calm down! I just thought that if she and Blake were dating, maybe Blake's niceness would somehow rub off on her!"

Fuyu rolled her eyes. "Kaji, how many times do I have to tell you? Shipping isn't the answer to everything."

"Yeah, yeah," Kaji deflates. "The plan didn't work out anyway. Turns out, Natalia has been dating some guy since December."

Fuyu's eyes soften quickly with pity. "Ouch. Poor Blake."

Kaji nodded solemnly. "He should've confessed to her months ago but he didn't have the nerve. Natalia's completely oblivious to Blake's feelings and how she brutally murdered his heart by bragging about her boyfriend."

Being a famous teen model with a cool attitude, I always thought Blake could get any girl he wanted. The magazines paint him as a womanizer leaving a string of broken hearts. Girls are said to be attracted to his tragic but handsome appeal.

"… I didn't think a guy like him ever had to worry about rejection."

Unlike me, went unsaid. I was wrong about him.

"I told you he's a just shy dork," said Kaji, seemingly reading my mind but what I was thinking was probably just written all over my face. "I know Blair's gonna make sure he's okay, but…"

"Yeah, it wouldn't hurt to get him to go on an outing with us and help him get his mind off of Natalia," I said, guessing what Kaji was thinking.

"Actually, I was thinking we could help him find a rebound by putting him on a blind date with one of my internet friends, but yeah, your idea sounds steadier so let's go with that first," Kaji said with a huge grin and two thumbs up.

"Romance isn't always the way to get over a heartbreak, idiot shipper," Fuyu chided, lightly jabbing Kaji with her elbow.

Kaji gingerly rubbed the part Fuyu jabbed and pouted. "I know. It's just that some people kept choosing people who aren't good for them and I wanted to make sure Blake falls for someone better than Natalia next time."

"We can't choose the people we fall for, much less choose for others," I scolded, fully relating to that.

Letting out a sigh, Kaji sounded defeated when he said, "You're right. Man, Shizu, that was deep," he perked up and shot a grin my way when he said, "Where the heck did you get that gem from? Is there a girl you're secretly seeing that we should know about?"

I stuttered out an excuse, which made Kaji laugh and admit he was only kidding. He doesn't believe I can keep that kind of secret from them if it were true. Oh, the irony.

"I'm sure you're just talking about your crush on Chat Noire," he said in between catching his breath from laughing, unaware of how close to the truth he was.

Our peaceful lunch time was disturbed with Natalia's high pitched yells.

"- I'm telling you, that guy's nothing but a social climber who uses everyone around him then dumps them once they've stopped being useful!"

It's not like I haven't heard people say that about me before. Those kinds of rumors only got worse since Kaji got me a recommendation, an easy slot into this prestigious school's scholarship program. I try to tell myself it doesn't hurt, that their opinions don't matter, that I work my butt off every day to prove I deserve to be here like everybody else, but…

"Just look at the people he surrounds himself with! He's clearly using them for his own gain!"

There are days when I feel like I really am taking advantage of my friends. They're both rich beyond my wildest dreams. Sometimes I wonder why they even hang out with a guy like me. Damien's words from a long time ago often haunt me whenever I think of stuff like this… That I'll never be good enough… I'll always be worthless…

"Don't listen to her, Shizu," Kaji's voice broke me out of my train of thought.

"Yeah. While Kaji gave you a scholarship, you're the one who's keeping him focused so he can stay in this school too," said Fuyu, keeping a straight face as she shoves her vegetables into Kaji's lunch.

"And Fuyu protects you because she's protective of everyone she gives a hoot about. You don't owe her anything," said Kaji, also keeping a straight face while playing with his phone, the loud game music telling me he's playing that colourful new puzzle game.

I felt my face twitch. These two…

"Fuyu! Stop shoving your vegetables into Kaji's plate and eat them yourself! You need them! And Kaji! Put away your phone! It's lunch time and it's not polite to have it out while talking to others!"

I was breathing heavily after scolding my two best friends for their lack of table manners when I noticed the two looked completely unabashed as they grinned at me, like they got the reaction that they wanted… Like they were exaggerating their usual bad habits on purpose.

"This is what we like about you. You're not afraid to tell us what you really think instead of kissing our butts like every other rich kid," said Fuyu, with a rare reassuring smile on her face. "We're all honest with each other, which lets us truly get to know and trust one another."

"Trust me, Shizu. A friend like that is hard to come by when you're rich and powerful. Almost everyone else only likes us for what we could give them," said Kaji with a serious tone which was ruined by the impish smile on his face. "You've driven it home that you're not like that when you fought me when I gave you a recommendation and refused to accept it until you succeeded in annoying my father into letting me attend school like normal."

After a pause, we all burst into laughter. These two… Sometimes, I can't believe we're friends.

"Seriously guys? Will you ever let that go? So embarrassing," I said, as soon as I could breathe normally again.

Kaji put away his phone and shoved Fuyu's vegetables back into her plate. "No way. Seriously. I've never met anyone so against getting a favor in my life. Even if you couldn't get me out of home school, I'm not taking back that recommendation."

"But Kaji, it's a huge favor and it wouldn't be fair if you're–" I was cut off when Fuyu bopped me on the head.

"That's what friends are for, stupid," Fuyu said. She took a spoonful of her vegetables and cringed as she swallowed, then followed it up with the eggrolls I brought. "We help each other out not because we owe each other, but because we want to."

And just like that, eight-year-old Damien's voice in my head telling me that I'll never be good enough went quiet.

0-0-0-0-0

Lunch passed by without anything else going on. Kaji went back to look for the twins to check on Blake and discuss their plans this afternoon. Fuyu went ahead to carry my stuff up to my next class on the second floor, while I went to the men's room. On my way to my class, I saw Damien with his back turned, facing the playground's elephant slide. I was going to walk away, glad that he couldn't see me, when I heard a child crying in his direction.

"Just hand over the money, and I promise you won't get in trouble."

Taking a better look, I saw that there was a skinny little boy with short silver hair crying. He was trapped between the stone slide and Damien's looming figure. The scrawny boy reached for his back pocket and pulled out some money. It's like third grade all over again…

I can't just stand here and watch. Not this time.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!"

The two startled and turned their heads towards me. I marched towards them and put myself between Damien and the little boy.

"Extorting a little boy for lunch money? I can't believe you're still doing things like that."

Damien scowled, looking down at me like I'm some sort of insect he can step on. The old me would've shrunk back, but now, my blood just boiled. I'm not the same kid he can just push around back in third grade.

"Midorikawa, calm down. I was just-"

"If you think I'm just gonna back down and let you keep stepping on others like you did before, then you're wrong!"

Damien flinched back. A small part of me wanted to hesitate but I can't let up now. I'm no longer the same weak-willed boy he used to push around… I'm stronger now. A superhero! I'm not gonna let him get away with it this time! Justice must be served!

"Who do you think you are, picking on people who are weaker than you?! Why do you feel the need to do that?! When you're not using your family connections and your intimidating size to scare people, you resort to mind games, making people think they owe it to you to give you what you want!"

The words came easier as I went on. It's like a dam just broke. All my thoughts that I've been keeping to myself, all my hate and frustration, just flowed out.

"You don't care that you're hurting others, or crushing their self-esteem, or make them question their worth! What's worse is you don't apologize for it! You never show remorse! All you care about is yourself!"

I was breathing hard by the time I was done. I identified too strongly with Damien's latest victim that at some point, my words were less about defending the poor boy and more about avenging the boy I was.

"I should've listened to Fuyu sooner all those years ago. You were never a friend. You were a bully. You still are, and I don't think you'll ever change," I coldly said.

For years, I imagined how it would be like to finally stand up against Damien. I imagined I'd be at least half as strong as Fuyu, use what I learned from Judo and throw him down to the ground. Or maybe an eloquent speech as I verbally crush him in front of a crowd - let him know how it feels like to be humiliated. What happened instead was a less than elegant scolding full of hatred with only us and this random kid as witnesses… I thought I'd be happier than this.

But Damien didn't fight back like I expected him to. He didn't even defend himself. Not even a little. He took everything I said without a word out of him. Is he trying to make me feel guilty? I shook my head. No. I won't fall back into that kind of twisted logic again. I'm the one who deserved an apology here, not this bully.

I took the frail silver haired boy by the arm and pulled him away from such a toxic person. If there's one good thing that came out of this, I at least managed to save this kid from him.

"Uhm, sir? Could you please let me go?"

"Sorry!" I said, letting go of the silver haired boy's arm. "Was I hurting you?"

The silver haired boy shook his head. "No, but I have to look for Dylan. Y'see, I've done something bad…"

Before the silver haired boy could finish his sentence, the curly haired boy from my class appeared before us with tears in his eyes. He looks like he's been running.

"Mister Sh-Shizuke!"

I was about to ask him what's wrong when he stomped closer to us with a glare. A pitiful glare, nowhere near as intimidating as Fuyu's, but it still sent a clear message: he's mad. And we're about to find out why.

"I heard everything! How could you say that to him?! You didn't even let him explain himself!"

"What?"

"He was just helping me look for the person who took my lunch money!"

The silver haired boy shot him an apologetic look and gave him the money - the same money he was going to give to Damien.

"Sorry, Dylan…" he mumbled.

The curly haired boy, Dylan, didn't seem to hear him and just grabbed the money without looking. His glare never left me.

"I thought you were nice! How could you be so mean to my big brother?!"

Big brother? He means Damien?

So wait, the silver haired kid stole Dylan's lunch money?

When Damien said he'll be forgiven if he gives him the money, he's not twisting words and making him feel bad on purpose…?

For one second, the silver haired kid was standing next to me. The next, he went flying towards the lockers, wrapped in a net that looked to be made of blue yarn with wooden weights. The wooden weights started to glow and lifted him off the ground.

"No one else will have to suffer because of a bully! I'll capture them all and see to it that they're all justly punished!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw a sight that made my heart twist in guilt. There stood a large akuma, dressed like a bounty hunter from an old western film. He had a fedora, a poncho with red and blue target symbols lining the edges, a utility belt, and a pair of thick brown leather cowboy boots, all colored a light golden brown. His only exposed arm was holding a gun that had a large canon-like barrel. More tellingly, around his wrist was a familiar red and blue yarn bracelet with wooden beads.

"I am Bully Hunter! Here to protect the weak!"

I messed up big time.

0-0-0-0-0


	11. 2-4 Bully Hunter

**CHAPTER 11: FORGIVING IS NOT THE SAME AS FORGETTING**

(Forgive and Forget)

 **Blair**

After the disaster that happened at lunch, Blake snuck off for his daily alone-time to sulk. Because he was being extra lonesome today, I couldn't find him at his usual spots.

Please don't turn into an akuma… With how broken hearted he is, there's no way he wouldn't turn into an akuma! That corrupted butterfly will soon come here, following his miserable trail of brokenhearted teen angst, transforming him into a supervillain I will have to fight and then-

"EVERYONE EVACUATE! AKUMA ALERT!" Shizuke yelled as he ran past me carrying a crying curly haired boy with an akuma hot on his heels.

The akuma stands at six feet tall with a broad figure. He looks like he's modelled after a bounty hunter in an old west film, with a huge canon-like gun that fires nets made out of blue yarn. The akuma was unrelenting in his chase, only stopping occasionally to shoot a few children down the hall.

"Midorikawa! I mean you both no harm!" the akuma yelled as he ran after him, trying to hit him with one of his nets.

Shizuke displays amazing agility as he dodged every single one of the akuma's shots without slowing down or dropping the little boy he was carrying. They soon ran out of the building, the akuma right on his tail.

On the bright side, Blake can't be akumatized now that someone else has.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Shizuke**

I ran around school dodging nets and looking for a place to hide. Damien-no, Bully Hunter is chasing me now, trying to get me and Dylan to watch him as he captures all the bullies in school and give them the punishment they deserve.

I managed to lose him for a bit and hid behind a building to catch my breath. I would've transformed by now if I wasn't carrying someone with me.

"Mister Shi-shizuke, why did you carry me? Aren't you mad at me for yelling at you?"

I shook my head. "No. I couldn't be mad at you for that," I said in between breaths. Untransformed, the Miraculous may have enhanced my senses but my physical abilities haven't changed. Even for a star track runner, running this far while jumping over obstacles and carrying a child is too much. "You were just defending your brother."

"Wouldn't it have been easier for you to get away if you just ditched me?" Dylan asked, looking at me with guilty eyes as I leaned on a wall for support. I must really look pitiful to him right now.

"I-I couldn't do that… Even if he is your b-brother… Akumas are d-dangerous… He might hurt you even if he didn't mean to," I took a deep breath before continuing so I can talk clearer. "And besides… I promised myself that I would never turn my back on people who needed help."

Before Dylan could say anything in response to that, Bully Hunter found us and we're back to running away from him.

"Please cooperate, Midorikawa! I just want you to see that I've changed!"

"Damien, you're not yourself! Don't do this!" I yelled back.

"Of course I'm not myself!" Bully Hunter growled, making Dylan shudder in my arms.

I could feel the little boy burry his head into my shoulder. Seeing his brother like this must be scaring him so much, he's willing to seek comfort from the guy who caused it.

"I am better now!"

A single rope of red yarn sped past me and wrapped itself around a tree, forcing me to turn away from the track field and run towards the theatre building. Bully Hunter was gaining on us.

"I'm no longer the bully that hurt you all those years ago! In fact, I won't let anyone else get away with bullying! That way, no one else has to suffer the way you did!"

I felt a pang of guilt at his words. He really does regret what he did after all.

I kept running until I reached the back of the theatre building, planning on cutting through the building to get to the gym – one of the many shortcuts I had to learn during my days as Damien's henchman. But the door was locked and my shortcut turned into a dead end, trapped between the corner of a building and a tall fence. If I hurry out maybe there's a chance I could still get out of this corner to somewhere more open. I turned around, only to see Bully Hunter blocked us off.

"Join me as I get rid of all the bullies in this school!" he said, offering his hand to us as a sign of peace.

"Or how about they don't?" said a voice that never fails to make my heart skip a beat.

Standing proudly on top of the theatre building was Chat Noire.

She jumped down from the building. Bully Hunter tried to shoot at her but she dodged it all by twisting in the air until she landed with a roll between us and the akuma. With her staff lengthened to twice her height, she struck Bully Hunter by the arm holding his gun, making him shoot his net up to the sky. Chat Noire swung her staff again, this time knocking Bully Hunter back a fair distance away.

"Get out of here while I distract him," Chat Noire said in a commanding voice as she deflected another net with her elongated staff.

I gave her a nod. As she ran towards Bully Hunter to fight him head on, I ran out of the corner and around the building. It was a long way around to the gym but from there, it's just a quick walk to the senior high school department – where the nearest exit is.

Since the Hawkmoth started attacking the city, the school came up with protocols to follow whenever there's an akuma nearby. In the event that an akuma attacks the school, students are to evacuate the department the akuma is in a swift and orderly fashion.

As soon as I reached the gym, I dropped Dylan off. I was about to run back to Chat Noire when I felt a hand tug me back by the sleeve.

"Y-you can't go! It's not safe!" Dylan said.

Aww… It's kind of Dylan to worry about my safety even though I was mean to his older brother, but I need to go so this kid can have his brother back.

"I'll be fine," I said, barely managing to keep my breathing steady. "I can take care of myself."

Dylan shook his head. "You said it yourself! My brother's an akuma now! He's dangerous!"

Because of me, said my unforgiving conscience. Because I let my anger get the better of me again…

"Dylan, look, I'm sorry about that. I want to apologize to your brother too, but I know it's worthless as long as he's an akuma. I'm going to wait for him to go back to normal. I just want to be there as soon as Ladybug purifies him. I promise to stay at a safe distance."

Dylan looked at me with skeptical eyes, not completely convinced with my excuse.

I handed him my phone and loaded the Ladyblog's latest video. Kaji was gleefully narrating that he has followed Chat Noire and the akuma into the school's cafeteria. Wow, they move fast.

"I promise you, you won't see me in this video. I won't get close enough to appear for that," I said with as much confidence as I could with my half-truth. Surely, he won't see _Shizuke Midorikawa_ go anywhere near Bully Hunter. "I always keep my promises."

Dylan eventually relented and let go of me.

"… I better not see you then."

"You won't."

I ran into the nearest empty space - a janitor's closet - and locked the door behind me. As soon as we're alone, Tikki flew out of my sweater vest.

"I messed up big time! Just when I thought I was finally improving I-"

"Shh… It's okay. You know what to do whenever you make a mistake."

"You're right," I straightened up and popped open the window. "The sooner I save Damien, the sooner I can fix this. Tikki, spots on!"

0-0-0-0-0

 **Chat Noire**

After Shizuke and the little boy were well out of Bully Hunter's reach, the akuma started focusing more on me and we fought around the school. By now, the elementary department has been cleared out. All I have to do is keep him within this area until Ladybug gets here. It would've been so much easier if he didn't have that annoying grappling hook on him. So I herded the akuma into the cafeteria. Being indoors should limit his mobility.

We were at a stand down several feet away from each other when we heard someone by the window. Guess who decides to show up?

"Hello, viewers! This is Keagan reporting live at our school's cafeteria where the akuma is currently fighting off Chat Noire!"

"Idiot, get down! They'll see you!"

Not Ladybug, that's who.

"You! Just who I was looking for!" Bully Hunter yelled as he shot a net and caught Monsieur Ladyblogger.

The beads around the net started glowing and levitated Keagan up through the window and floating towards Bully Hunter. Fiona quickly jumped through the window and grabbed the net holding Keagan. She's only strong enough to slow down the floating net.

"Let go of him!" Fiona yelled, glaring ice cold daggers at Bully Hunter.

Bully Hunter ignored her as he reeled in Keagan. As strong as she is, Fiona's no match against an akuma, and is losing their game of tug-of-war. Keagan, on his part, hasn't stopped filming.

"So Bully Hunter, what do you need me for? I thought your M.O. was capturing bullies?"

"I just need you to capture everything so Midorikawa and my brother could see what I'm trying to do. I promise you won't be harmed."

Welp. I think we've finally reached the point where the akuma has run out of new things to tell us. I flipped a few tables over Bully Hunter to keep him busy and clawed off the bead weights around the net holding Keagan.

"Chat Noire! Where's Ladybug?"

"Monsieur Ladyblogger, will you get off your phone and at least make an effort to get away from here?!" I said through gritted teeth.

I heard the clicking sound of a gun being loaded behind me. Crud. I raised my hands in surrender and slowly turned to face him.

"I don't mean to sound like a bully extorting kids for their lunch money, but a deal's a deal," Bully Hunter sarcastically said, taking his sweet time pulling the trigger. "Hand over your Miraculous!"

"Nope," I dropped my baton and kicked it as hard as I can, aiming for his gun forcing him to miss. I caught my baton as it bounced off the akuma's meaty wrist and extended it to his face, hitting him square in the nose.

While Bully Hunter's busy fixing his nose in pain, I grabbed Keagan in a princess-style carry and ducked behind the cafeteria counter with Fiona following close behind.

Instead of freeing Keagan from the net, I thought better of it and tangled the net around a cupboard handle.

"Stay. Here." I said before he can retort, but then I thought better of it. I turned to Fiona. "Actually, make sure he stays here."

"Yes, ma'am," Fiona gave me an affirmative salute, which made Keagan mumble 'traitor'.

I peered above the counter to see if Bully Hunter has recovered yet. The net flying my way tells me, yes he has. With a flick of my wrist, my baton extended into a quarterstaff just in time to deflect the incoming net and send it back at Bully Hunter to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Bully Hunter turned a knob on his yarn gun-transforming it to a more compact gun- and pulled the trigger. Instead of another net, beads shot out of the gun and exploded when they collided with the net, disintegrating it.

I clicked my tongue. "So you have explosives too. Cest magnifique."

"Aww, kitty. If you wanted to play with yarn so badly, I can always switch back,~" he said, twisting the knob back to bulky net gun mode.

"You know, that joke would've worked better if your name had a yarn-based pun. Hawkmoth really has to up her game in the naming department."

I rolled out of the way as more nets shot towards me. Bully Hunter threw net after net after me and until there was just too many for me to dodge and I was on the floor. Before he can come over and take my Miraculous, a red and black spotted yoyo wrapped around Bully Hunter's gun arm stopped him.

"That's enough, Bully Hunter!" Ladybug entered the scene from behind the akuma, tugging at his yoyo as he stepped closer.

A glowing butterfly outline lit up over the akuma's face.

Noticing the lack of struggle from the akuma, Ladybug asked, "Hawkmoth's nagging again, isn't she?"

"Yeah, probably going ' _blah blah blah… Get both of their miraculous! Blah blah blah… Don't forget to pick up some milk on the way! Blah blah blah…_ '," I mocked as I clawed through the yarn holding me down.

"Cat! Not the time!" Ladybug scolded, but not before he failed to hold back a snicker.

"Sorry Hawkmoth, can't listen to you right now. I'm in the middle of a fight," before either of us could make a move, the glowing butterfly outline faded and Bully Hunter's head is back in the game. "C'mere, Ladybug!"

Bully hunter grabbed the yoyo and flung Ladybug towards him.

Hah. Big mistake. With his huge bulky size and with Ladybug kinda disarmed, it's easy to understand why he'd think fighting Ladybug in hand-to-hand combat would be easy.

Mid-flight, Ladybug readjusted himself so his feet connected to Bully Hunter's chest first. The blow sent the large akuma down to the floor and Ladybug pinned him down by holding down his arm and his legs wrapped around the akuma's shoulder.

Ladybug is a highly competent unarmed fighter. If I were to guess, he practices a martial art in his civilian life. With all the time we've spent fighting akumas, I would've thought Hawkmoth would warn her minion-for-the-day that Ladybug is not to be underestimated at melee.

As my partner was trying to pry off a bracelet – likely the possessed object – Bully Hunter turned the knob of his gun again. This time, it turned into a grappling gun. Bully Hunter shot its grappling hook and dragged himself and Ladybug across the other end of the cafeteria through several tables and chairs, making Ladybug let go.

Finally free of the net, I leaped towards the pile of tables, picked off a few and pulled out my partner. "Damn, that look like it hurt."

Ladybug flexed and stretched; demonstrating that he's well enough, thanks for the concern, his magical indestructible suit took the brunt of the damage.

"Where's Bully Hunter?"

"I won't let you take Kaji!" Fiona yelled.

"That answers your question, Bugsy."

Bully Hunter was at the counter back on the other end of the cafeteria, Fiona bravely standing between the akuma and Monsieur Ladyblogger like it's where she belongs. Ladybug and I tried to rush towards them but things escalated too fast on the akuma's side.

"I have no business with you, but I'll give you a chance," Bully Hunter turned his gun into its 'exploding beads mode'. "Step out of the way and you can get out of this unharmed."

Alarmed, Keagan said, "I'll be fine! He needs me! Do what he says, Fuyu!"

"Fuyu…?" Bully Hunter repeated, his eyes widening. Then his shock shifted to anger as his gun shifted to net mode. "You…"

Fiona didn't back away and shot him her own icy cold glare. "Whatever you're trying to achieve here, you can shove it! I'm not letting you drag my friends into it!"

At this very moment, I believed with all my heart that Keagan and Fiona belong together. They're both reckless! Ladybug seems to share my sentiments. He's making choking noises right next to me, equally shocked at her audacity to taunt an akuma.

"YOU'RE THE REASON MIDORIKAWA WON'T LISTEN TO ME!" Bully Hunter shot Fiona with a net.

Unlike with Keagan earlier, he was much rougher with levitating her towards him.

Also unlike Keagan earlier, Fiona's making an effort to get out of the net.

"If I can't convince Midorikawa that I've changed, then I'll just have to convince you and make you help me!" Bully Hunter said, shifting his gun to 'grappling hook mode'.

Bully Hunter went out of the cafeteria and swung away on his red yarn grappling hook with Fiona in tow.

As for Keagan, he freed himself from the net when no one was looking and jumped on the net holding Fiona, clinging onto it as it flew away with no regard for his safety, all before I could even think about stopping him.

"Come back here!" Ladybug yelled as he zipped after them.

I couldn't resist the urge to pull my hair in frustration.

Shizuke, why are all your friends crazy?! No wonder you're so high-strung all the time! They'll be the death of you! The death of me too!

I launched myself after Bully Hunter with all my strength, venting out my frustrations.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Ladybug**

There was a brief moment of panic when I lost sight of Bully Hunter, until Chat Noire caught up and grumpily reminded me that the crazy Ladyblogger is with them filming everything.

According to the Ladyblog, they're headed towards the school's clock tower where Bully Hunter plans to publicly execute the bullies by hanging them up there by their underwear. How nostalgic. I remember the days when he threatened to do the same to me if I didn't do his homework.

"Leave it to Monsieur Ladyblogger, to get freed from the akuma's dangerous clutches only to jump right back in the second I turn my back on him! How can one person be so reckless?!" Chat Noire ranted, understandably irritable. "And there's his Lady-friend too! What was she thinking picking a fight with an akuma?!"

Welcome to my world, dear love of my life. You'll make an excellent addition to our little family.

"At least their four-eyed friend is more cooperative. I've never seen him anywhere near an akuma, but the one time I do, he kept himself away from the akuma like I told him to! Just for that, he's become my favorite of their infamous trio!"

I had to slap myself so I don't do or say anything stupid when she said I'm her favorite. It doesn't mean anything! She just finds me less annoying compared to my friends!

"What was that?" Chat Noire looked at me with concern.

"NOTHING! JUST A FLY!"

"Okay…" Chat Noire said, sounding unconvinced.

0-0-0-0-0

"People of this school!"

Bully Hunter's voice boomed from where he was perched at the top of the clock tower, nets holding alleged bullies floating around it. Fuyu's net was floating the highest, right next to Bully Hunter. Kaji was filming the whole thing on a flying hammock made of blue yarn and floating beads near them. He was restrained to it with yarn.

"There is no need to fear! Bully Hunter is here to purge the school from all kinds of jerks who cause nothing but pain!" the akuma turned towards Fuyu. "Just you watch, Jewelry Princess. I'll get you to help me by the end of this."

"That's enough, Bully Hunter," I said as soon as I reached the top of the tower.

Bully Hunter took a step in front of Fuyu, blocking her from my view with his bulky form. "I was wondering when you'd show up… Wait, where's your partner?"

That was when Chat Noire snuck up from behind and struck. But Bully Hunter was quick. He grabbed Fuyu and rolled away. He mostly kept his distance as he shot at us. His arm with the bracelet is wrapped around Fuyu, making it hard to make a grab for it. I tried to snatch Fuyu off his grasp but his hold on her was too strong.

"Ladybug, I've got an idea," Chat Noire said, eyes locked on the akuma and focused as ever. "I'm gonna need you to be prepared to catch the hostage. Okay?"

I barely managed a nod when she charged towards Bully Hunter. She gracefully dodged all his shots and as she got into his space, she made a feint towards his wrist. Thinking she's gonna try to get to his bracelet again he turned to sidestep her.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat Noire struck down on the roof, making Bully Hunter lose his footing and fall through the hole she made. The sudden jolt made him let go of Fuyu, sending her falling off the clock tower screaming.

Remembering something from the Spider-Man comics Chat Noire made me read, I decided against fishing her back up with my yoyo and dove after her. I could faintly hear Kaji crying her name from above as I swung down as fast as I can to catch Fuyu. I quickly wrapped my arm around her, careful to keep her head down so she doesn't snap her neck and willed my yoyo to grow longer and longer until we reach the ground.

She was still shaking in my arms when we landed. It's a far cry from the strong heroic girl who stood up for me all those years ago and has been looking out for me since. Seeing someone as tough as her look so frail like this… It never gets easier.

"Are you-" I asked but I was cut off when she pushed herself off and took a few steps back.

"I'm fine," she gritted out while keeping her gaze away from me. Knowing her, she's probably ashamed of showing fear, even one as understandable as nearly falling to her death.

The sounds of explosions rang from above.

Eyes fixed on the top of the tower where Kaji and the others are still floating in mid-air, Fuyu said, "You should go."

As much as I want to stay to make sure she's okay, the battle with Bully Hunter isn't over yet.

"Okay. Just stay safe until we stop the akuma, alright?" I said as I threw my yoyo all the way back to the top of the tower and hauled myself up. Chat Noire doesn't have much time left.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Chat Noire**

With Cataclysm already used up, this fight couldn't last too long.

I pounced on him from behind a gear and tried to ambush him, but he pulled off his grappling hook just in time to hoist himself up and dodge.

"Nice try, kitty, but you're gonna have to do better than that," Bully Hunter mocked as he steadied himself up a vertical gear that's slowly sending him down like an escalator. He shot another net at me, which I evaded by hiding behind a set of gears.

With his long-ranged fighting style and varied abilities combined with the constantly shifting battleground, taking him down is trickier than it should be.

"Here, kitty kitty kitty…" Bully Hunter taunted.

The beeping of my Miraculous gave away my hiding spot and had me fighting him again. That was when Ladybug came swinging in, kicking Bully Hunter off the edge.

"Nice of you to drop in, Ladybug," I greeted. "Perfect timing as always."

"Sorry I took so long," Ladybug said, too serious to banter like a proper Spider-man knock off.

A grappling hook zipped by and pulled the akuma back up to our level.

"Great. You're both here," Bully Hunter shifted his gun into bead bomb mode and shot at us. "Now I just gotta knock you out and pry your Miraculous off!"

We scrambled up from one platform to another as the akuma wildly shot his exploding projectiles around us. With all the spinning from the rotating clock gears and us heroes running in circles around him, you'd think the akuma would get dizzy at some point, but nope.

"Chat Noire!"

Up on a beam, Ladybug was tying what appears to be a pair of red, black-spotted barbell weights to his back. I narrowed my eyes at today's Lucky Charm. How would strapping extra weight on to Ladybug stop Bully Hunter? Whatever. Leave it to Ladybug to figure that out.

"Can you get the akuma to fall off right below me? Thanks!"

Times like these, I'm glad that my power isn't as needlessly complicated as Lucky Charm. It takes a special kind of zany to use it to full effect.

The akuma made no effort to hide where he is. He's standing on a gear around the middle, shooting randomly at every direction except the one where we are. Good. He hasn't spotted us yet. With all the damages done to the clock tower, the gears are now grinding at a frenetic pace. My Miraculous beeped a second warning. I better make this quick.

I leaped onto the wildly swinging pendulum and slipped down. Just when the pendulum swung by Bully Hunter, I spun myself around from behind the pendulum's round weight and kicked him over the edge.

Spurred by his survival instincts to save himself from falling to his death, he changed his gun to a grappling hook and fired, aiming for one of the beams above - right where Ladybug was waiting.

Ladybug grabbed the other end of the grappling hook, slid it over a beam and jumped down with the weights strapped onto his back. Ah. So that's what the weights are for; to drag a big guy like Bully Hunter up a make-shift pulley while having him locked into using a grappling hook!

When they met, Ladybug snagged the bracelet and forced it to snap as they passed each other on his way down. With his hand now free to wield his yoyo, he caught and purified the akuma.

Bully Hunter transformed back into Damien mid-air. I jumped up and caught him while Ladybug swung down on a platform below to use his miraculous healing wave. Soon, a swarm of magical ladybugs flew around and fixed everything. Ladybug swung up to check on us and we did our fist bumps before we looked over Hawkmoth's latest victim.

The former akuma looked around in confusion. "… What…? Where am I?"

Usually, this would be Ladybug's cue to start comforting the victim… Except Ladybug is too busy staring into space. Since it doesn't seem like Ladybug's gonna do his usual akuma-hugger routine, I might as well give them my own brand of tough love.

"You're in the school's clock tower. And before you ask, yes, you've just been akumatized."

He took a while to process what I said, typical of most akuma victims.

"For what it's worth, you got akumatized fighting for a good cause."

"W-what did I do?"

"You tried to rid this school of bullies."

"Huh?"

"And you tried to make some nerd watch to convince him you've changed or something."

"What?!"

"Failing at that, you kidnapped the nerd's friends instead so they can convince him for you."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't be so dramatic. It's not like you were anywhere near killing them!" I waved him off, then something occurred to me. "Please don't blame yourself for the part where the pink one fell off the clock tower. That was totally my fault."

Damien covered his face and sunk down on his knees in despair. Sigh… I did promise myself I'd at least try to be a better hero, and part of that job is comforting victims.

"It was all for a good cause! You wanted to show you've changed and apologize to the nerd for being a bully before, right?"

Damien, still drowning in despair, simply nodded.

"Then don't let this stop you. You wanted to be given a chance to show you're sorry and that you've changed, right? But for that to happen, you have to give him a chance to see that for himself and forgive you by _apologizing_ ," then my miraculous gave off a warning beep. Two minutes left. "Looks like I need to clock out. _Cat_ ch ya later!"

I shot Ladybug a wink and a pair of finger guns before leaping off into the school's lush gardens, leaving my partner to deal with the victim.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Ladybug**

Why did she have to be so cute?! It's not fair! And did she have to repeatedly call me a nerd?!

With no more further distractions, I'm left alone in the tower with my problem. There was a brief silence before Damien spoke up.

"Ladybug?"

"Yeah?"

"Please do me a favor and sneak me out of school! I can't face either of them right now!" he begged, prostrating down on the floor.

Once upon a time, it was me who was prostrating in front of him, begging for forgiveness over something that I now know wasn't even my fault. How times have changed.

"Listen, Dam-DUDE," I almost bit my tongue. I'm not supposed to know his name as Ladybug after all. At least my verbal stumble got him to look up. "Cat's right. If you really did feel sorry about what you've done, you should apologize."

"What's the use? He'll never forgive me… I don't deserve to be forgiven."

I resisted the urge to agree with him. Just because I akumatized him and he feels bad for it now, doesn't mean I'm just gonna forgive him for his years of bullying. But right now, I'm not Shizuke, the person he wronged. I'm Ladybug, the hero who hears everyone out fairly so justice can be served.

"I understand that you were akumatized because you felt… regret over your past actions…"

"Yeah. I was one hell of an asshole back then…"

I cringed at his use of curse words. That part of him hasn't changed.

"… I doubt I'm any better now."

My miraculous beeped, signaling that I only have three minutes left.

"Whether he'll forgive you or not, it seems to me he deserved an apology," I opened the window by the clock face and threw my yoyo out, letting it wrap around a building. "Now come on. A certain 'nerd' told me he'll talk to you once you're back to normal."

Looks like it's Shizuke's turn to have a talk.

0-0-0-0-0

After swinging us down and leaving him by a bench near the clock tower, I found a secluded place to detransform and carefully circled around before I made my way back. He looked surprised to see me, even though I, as Ladybug, told him I'd meet him here.

I never thought I'd ever be doing this. Nonetheless, I gave him my sincerest apologies.

"Damien, I'm here to apologize for my outburst earlier noon."

"What are you apologizing for? You weren't wrong, I really was a horrible friend to you… I deserved that."

"Stop!" I held my hand out. I straightened up and looked him in the eye. "What I did was uncalled for. I should've given you a chance to explain yourself like I would've had it been anyone else."

"But-"

"What you did in the past was horrible, but it had no bearing on the matter with the boy. I was being unfair and let my anger get the better of me. You didn't deserve to get lashed out on today. I'll try not to let that happen again and be more cooperative in the future. That's all I wanted to say to you. Good day."

I started making my way back towards the elementary department, leaving Damien behind. Now that the akuma situation is over, classes should resume in the next period...

"Midorikawa! Wait!"

I stopped in place, willing myself not to snap at him. Not even a full minute ago, I just promised I'd try to hear him out first and not let my anger get the better of me, so that's exactly what I'm going to do.

"I know this is six-no, _seven_ years overdue, but I want to apologize for how I treated you in the past."

I turned to face him fully and narrowed my eyes at him. If he thinks one measly apology is gonna be enough-

"Just… Just know that you never deserved to be treated that way."

"I know that," I said. It came out more detached than how I'm really feeling... Anger, sadness, regret… All of it blending inside of me. But it was all I can manage without lashing out at him all over again. He doesn't deserve it when he's actually TRYING to apologize.

"Good. Good… I don't expect us to ever be friends again. I mean, who would want to be friends with me after that?" he laughed at himself in a self-depreciating way and looked to the side, avoiding eye contact. "If you could never forgive me, I'll understand. I just want you to know I regret how I was, and I'm sorry."

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Yeah…?" he reluctantly complied.

Normally, I'd feel bad for making people uncomfortable, but there are things I needed to know before I can even consider forgiving him.

"What made you change?"

Right after I befriended Fuyu and left him, he didn't just stop being a jerk. In fact, he got worse. Then suddenly, he stopped. He never approached us, never acknowledge our presence… But his goons didn't so I assumed we're still on his hit list. A part of me always wondered why.

"My brother… You've met him. He's a good kid and he really looks up to me," Damien said as his lips twitched into a smile. That smile turned down into a grimace. "He started school a year after you and Kuznetsov became friends. Dylan befriended another kid who was just like me. He came home crying one day feeling like shi-feeling like dirt. Took him a while to get over that, and even then, there are days when he relapses and thinks he's _worthless_ all over again."

I chose to ignore his near curse. Well, that explains where he got that empathy from. I've only known the kid for a day and I can understand feeling a little protective of him. What more if he's actually my little brother?

"He kinda reminds me of you, you know? Honest, kind, earnest... Eager to please. Can achieve just about anything when he puts his mind to it. But with terrible self-esteem, ever since he made that one awful ' _friend_ '," Damien let out a sardonic laugh. "Karma truly does have a twisted sense of humor."

A quiet "oh" was all I could say. I can feel Damien's own self-loathing from where I stand. Damien stayed quiet and misty eyed for a while before he gathered himself and started talking again.

"So I understood then that I am the worst person ever. I couldn't face you or Kuznetsov after that. I didn't know what to say… I was ashamed of myself. Still am."

"Then why didn't you apologize sooner?"

"Because I'm a coward."

"And your goons? Why didn't they stop attacking me if you already regretted being a bully?"

"We liked feeling powerful and when I quit, they just replaced their leader. They wouldn't listen to me when I told them to stop. So we cut off all ties. We're no longer 'friends'."

Now that he mentioned 'friends'…

"And Natalia? Does she know?"

Not long after he stopped bullying me, I saw him befriend a certain blonde. At first, I thought she was a replacement for me, his new personal homework machine. But then I noticed how differently he treats her. I was a little resentful when he treated me like a servant while he was much nicer towards her, because why me? Why was I the one he bullied? And then Natalia started acting like a huge jerk around me, so I just assumed it's because they're both jerks that they got along better. But now though, I get the feeling that's not the case.

"I didn't have the guts to apologize to you like I should've, much less tell the only friend I have about how horrible a friend I could be. If she knew, she wouldn't want to be friends anymore."

Damien crossed his arms in an effort to look tougher than he really is. I'm sure he'd rather not talk about this. The only reason he's answering is because he probably feels that he owes me at least this much. He's genuinely sorry.

"I'm sure she'd still want to be your friend," I said reassuringly, which caused Damien's head to snap back up at me at the unexpected sympathy. "I'll never forget the bully who made my first year in Helios miserable… But you're not that guy anymore."

"Wait, does this mean you forgive me…?"

He sounded so hopeful, I almost feel bad for crushing that.

"Not quite. You haven't bullied me in years, and I can see you've changed. I have no reason to keep holding a grudge against you… It's just that, I can't just get over the past as if none of it happened. This is all so sudden, and honestly, I'm having trouble absorbing…" I waved my hand over to him, indicating his changes. Damien looked confused. Sigh, I should just get to the point. "But I'm sure I can forgive you someday."

Damien only nodded in response, full of understanding. He's nothing like who he used to be - the demanding brat who would throw a tantrum whenever he doesn't get his way.

After letting all of that out, I felt different. This isn't like earlier, where I just blew up and threw all my resentment at him. This time, I felt like a weight has been lifted off of me. I still feel some anger boiling deep inside me, but it's not as intense as it used to be. Tikki was right. Holding onto grudges really isn't good for anyone.

"For now, I want us to work better in our group together, and that can only happen if you stopped pretending I am not around- _and for Natalia to stop antagonizing me, but I'll worry about that later_. So, groupmates?" I held out a hand, which he took and shook.

"Groupmates."

0-0-0-0-0

 **Blair**

It took me most of the free period, a quick run across the school grounds as Chat Noire, and dumb luck to find my sulking twin brother. I should've known he'd climb up a tree to be alone. There he was, lying on the highest branch looking totally emo. He makes it look like bark is a perfectly comfortable thing to lay on. He always had delusions that tree climbing was cool for some reason. I detransformed behind some bushes before approaching Blake.

"Bro, get down from there! Class is about to resume! We can't just leave Keagan to deal with those little gremlins alone!"

"You go on ahead. I'll just stay here and think about my place in the universe now that Natalia's got a boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes. "You're being a drama queen, bro. Stop acting like it's the end of the world! So what if Natalia has a boyfriend? It's not like she's going to marry him."

"That's where it starts, sis. It's a step-by-step process. First they'll date, then they'll get engaged, then they'll get married and have children!"

Plagg is snickering in my purse. I placed my hands on my hips and glared up at my _dearest_ brother.

"Psh… Not everyone ends up marrying their first love, stupid," I said with a dismissive wave.

"Tell that to dad."

"He's a special case. He always believed he only had the capacity to fall in love once so of course he's gonna try his best not to screw that up."

Sometimes, I wonder if I'm gonna end up like dad – never let go of the first and only person who made him feel something that isn't platonic because he's afraid he's never gonna feel that way again. He was never attracted to anyone before he met mom. If they hadn't met, he believed he'd probably stay single for life like he initially planned. I can only hope that when I find that person, they'd be at least half as nice as mom and they feel the same about me.

"And mom said he was like, her fifth love. Sixth if she was counting her unrequited crush on her teacher when she was a kid. That's how it works for most people! Trial and error until you find the right one for you! I'm sure you'll get your chance someday."

"Even if they don't end up getting married, I doubt Natalia will ever look my way. I'm not even her type! I'm no prince charming…"

Despite being the spitting image of our dad (save for the eyes) Blake clearly takes after mom; such a hopeless romantic with a flair for dramatics. Dad had always been the more pragmatic one in that relationship.

"Then move on."

"What?"

"Move. On. There are plenty of fish... Fishes? Fish? Whatever. _Sea creatures_ , yeah, that'll do. There ar-"

"Sea creatures? Really?"

"Can't be picky with what you catch, bro. It's better to cast your net wide and broaden your options if you want to actually catch something 'cause we can't always catch them _gold_ fish, now can we?!"

Blake grumbled about how I'm not even at the punch line yet but he's already annoyed to pieces. From the ocean of kindness that is my heart, I pretended not to hear any of that.

"As I was saying; there are plenty of sea creatures in the sea that can appreciate an overly dramatic dork like you!"

"Thanks, sis," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You're welcome," I cheerfully replied. Then I schooled my happy face to a more serious expression. "Bro, whether you choose to wait for her or move on, I'll always be here for you. You know that, right?"

Blake's sour face softened. "Yep."

I grinned. "Now get your butt down _here_ , because you're up _there_ and I can't be _there_ for you!"

Blake rolled his eyes, and stood up, balancing precariously on the branch.

"Coming, sister _dearest_ ," he said in a tone full annoyance, but we both know he means it.

My brother did some warm up stretches before he climbed down a lower branch, then another, lower and lower until he jumped down with a twist in mid-air when he was only six feet off the ground.

"Show off," I muttered.

"Like you don't do that too," Blake jabbed back.

Together we threw jabs at each other until we reached our classroom. There we were greeted with a strange sight.

"Twinsies! You came back! I was beginning to think you've abandoned me!"

There, we found poor Keagan, tied to a chair, unable to do anything but watch helplessly in the sidelines as the class descended into war against each other with that girl with the dirty blonde pigtails leading one side and Zephyr leading the other. How did that kid get back here so fast?! I'm pretty sure I saw him by the clock tower along with the other bullies before I left…

"How the heck did this happen?" I asked incredulously. Blake was too shocked to say anything.

"I don't know! One minute we were having class like normal, the next, they were declaring war on each other and I'm tied to a chair!"

We stared at the class who were building forts made of chairs and paper flying everywhere. Then we stared back at Keagan, who looked about ready to cry. Then back at the class, who somehow set a pile of books on fire, triggering the fire alarms and the sprinklers, making everything soggy.

All this in the span of, what? Ten minutes? Fifteen minutes? We weren't gone THAT long.

"We're so in trouble…" I grumbled as I untied Keagan.

0-0-0-0-0

 **Shizuke**

"Shizu!" Fuyu greeted us at the playground on the way to the elementary department. Noticing my company, she wedged herself between us and glared up at the giant ex-bully. "You better not be messing with Shizu's head again."

Damien nodded his head down in humility and said, "I know, and I'm sorry for everything I did as Bully Hunter, I-"

"Zip it," Fuyu cut him off, her voice had that sharp edge and her icy blue eyes set in one of the coldest glares I've ever seen from her. "Haven't you seen the Ladyblog? People see me with Kaji on the Ladyblog all the freaking time! I of all people would know that akumas are just unlucky people who were controlled by Hawkmoth when they were down! I'm not gonna hold anything you said or did as an akuma against you. Apologizing about that is stupid, so I don't wanna hear it."

"Right… Sorry."

Damien looked down to the side, avoiding her glare. I kinda feel sorry for him. He didn't know that that would trigger Fuyu's wrath.

"I have better reasons to be mad at you that you're actually accountable for."

Damien winced. He looked like he was going to try to apologize again but Fuyu cut him off and marched ahead, dragging me with her.

"Let's just get back to the classroom. The yellow eyesore must be getting tired of taking care of a classroom full of screaming children by herself," Fuyu said, rejecting any of Damien's attempts at conversation. She glared at him the whole way back and stayed firmly between us.

0-0-0-0-0

When we returned to the classroom, Dylan greeted us and was glad that we're on civil terms now. He returned my phone, pleased to say he didn't saw me in the Ladyblog's livestream as I promised. Natalia seethed and was mean at first, but at least Damien tried to play peacemaker between us and let me teach. After that, we managed to work together well enough. Fuyu made no further comments at the change in our group's dynamics and quietly sat in the corner listening to music while occasionally shooting Damien and Natalia a glare whenever she thinks we're not looking.

The rest of the afternoon went a lot better than this morning. There's just one more thing I need to settle…

"Fuyu, I need you to help me ask out Blake."

Fuyu choked on a cookie – from Tikki's stash. Sigh... I refilled her glass of lemonade, which she grabbed and swallowed to wash down Tikki's cookie. As soon as she cleared her throat, she sputtered out, "Wait, what?!"

Then it occurred to me how my choice of words could be misinterpreted. "That's not what I meant! I mean, we ask him to go out with us! Platonically! Just a group of friends on an outing!"

Wiping her face clear of cookie crumbs, she asked, "What do you have in mind?"

0-0-0-0-0


	12. 2-5 Bully Hunter

**CHAPTER 12: CHANGE STARTS LONG BEFORE ANYONE NOTICES**

 **Fiona**

The minute I saw the names of the people Shizu's grouped with, I knew I had to be there.

 _Damien Guerrero._

 _Natalia Hale._

Two names that always spelled trouble, especially when _Shizuke Midorikawa_ is in the same sentence.

"You don't have to come, Fuyu. I'll be fine," Shizu said. Naïve fool.

"You'll be alone with your childhood bully and his new sidekick in a room full of screaming children. I don't know about you Shizu, but that looks like a disaster waiting to happen," she sarcastically quipped.

"I'm sure we can set aside our differences for the task ahead."

He was being strangely optimistic today. Scratch that – lately, he's _always_ strangely optimistic, which is pretty weird for a guy whose city is being invaded by a crazy butterfly lady who can turn anyone into supervillains. When the akumas first broke out, I would've thought I'd be looking after _two_ problematic idiots.

"Huh. You're handling this better than I thought you would."

With Shizuke's track record for overthinking stuff and underestimating himself, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets akumatized within the first month. Heck, I expected him to have a panic attack every time an akuma pops up. But so far, against all expectations, Shizu managed to keep his head and stayed a functional member of society while Kaji, the one who's normally chill, became a glutton for danger. I'm kinda proud of the nerd for staying relatively sane inspite of all the weirdness going on with the world. Compared to that, facing his two least favorite people in the world shouldn't be a big deal.

"So would you please let me handle this on my own?"

"I'm still not fully convinced."

"Fuuuyuuu."

I gave him a gentle nudge, and he winced. What a baby.

"I'm just looking out for you, stupid nerd."

That hasn't changed. While Shizu has come a long way from the shy doormat I first met at the very same elementary we're headed to, I'm not about to ditch him when he needs me.

"But what about Kaji? He's grouped with…" Shizu looked around before ducking his head down and lowering his voice when he hissed, "He's grouped with _Hawkmoth_."

If I wasn't holding his bag of teaching stuff, I'd be face-palming by now.

"Shizu, I've been considering that for a while now, but I'm starting to agree with Kaji. Blair's probably not Hawkmoth."

One of the few changes that happened around Shizu since Hawkmoth's reign of terror began was his weird obsession with the class's rising fashion model, Blair Crawford. For some reason, he's convinced that the girl is Hawkmoth. Kaji's been trying to dissuade him for weeks. Now, even I'm trying to dissuade him. Sometimes even Blake drops in and half-assedly tries to dissuade him. Nothing we say gets him to drop his suspicions. If anything, his obsession just grows.

"Then why is she flirting with _you_ and not Kaji?"

It doesn't help that Blair has made it her hobby to hit on Shizu. The first week of that, everyone was buzzing about it. Since then, it's died down. Any time that redheaded model is seen hitting on a certain blue-haired nerd, people no longer stop to gawk. They treat it like it's a perfectly normal everyday occurrence, like a teacher scolding someone for running down a hall or a nerd getting shoved into a locker by some jock… only for the jock to get bitch-slapped by me.

"To uh… See if I might figure out her secret identity with it? Or if I could map out her evil lair? Maybe she's trying to-"

"If that's the case, then she wouldn't need to see your chart to know she has to shake up her attack pattern to throw you off. Face it Shizu, the girl just has a weird crush on you."

Okay, that's an exaggeration. It's more like she finds it fun to mess with him. Blake spilled the deets on his twin and Kaji was a little sad that Shizu hasn't quite hit the jackpot with the red haired model. Then again, maybe it's for the best she doesn't truly like him that way. Blair doesn't quite fit Shizu's usual type. It'll only lead to a heartbreak, and for once, it's not for Shizu.

"But Fuyu! It can't be a coincidence! Akumas appear where she's supposed to be almost all the time, and yet she's almost always never found!" Shizu harshly whispered.

"We've been over this. She's probably doing the smart thing during the akuma attacks and hid like a normal powerless civilian. Just like you always do."

Another change with Shizu is his sudden disappearing acts. He's always busy elsewhere, needing to go to the bathroom, stuck on classroom duties, etc. This usually happens whenever there's an akuma attack. I should be relieved by this, except…

"Y-yes. I hide well. That's what I do. Staying away from danger. That's me," he said while avoiding eye contact, fiddling with his fingers, and his face stuck on a smile too stiff to be anything but suspicious.

"Or were you?"

Whenever he acts like this, it makes me think that he's actually closer than he claims to be. I mean, listen to his excuses:

" _Sorry I'm late! The traffic caused by the akuma attack was crazy!" said Shizu, who lives within a fifteen-minute walking distance from the school and walks there every flipping day because he's a cheapskate who cuts costs wherever he can._

" _My grandmother called, she needs help with the shop. So bye!" said Shizu, whose grandma relies on him to handle the technological side of her business because she doesn't even own a cellphone, much less know how to use one to call him._

" _Screaming? Oh! I was at the movies, watching that new horror movie. Yeah. Lots of people were screaming when that ghost appeared. I was nowhere near the akuma attack," said Shizu, who was never a fan of horror ever since my older brother traumatized him with his collection when we were twelve._

Bull. Shit. All of it. Complete and utter bullshit! Shizu is a notoriously crappy liar so he doesn't do it often. Yet, he's doing it anyway. I wish I knew why but every time I pry…

"Civilians should not get themselves involved when it comes to akuma! It's not safe! It's common sense!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He does this. Refuge in Audacity as Kaji called it. Speaking of…

"… I wish Kaji had common sense."

"Same."

He sounded completely genuine.

Whatever he's hiding, I'm sure he's not doing it to avoid us. Kaji's just paranoid. We're still as much of a friend to him as he is to us. That hasn't changed.

0-0-0-0-0

Being here in the same elementary I grew up in brought back some memories. We're even in the exact same elementary school building with the same bully that brought us together. The day went by as well as expected: Natalia hogging the class, Damien ignoring us as usual.

I glared at the two from the back of the classroom. What? Are we not good enough to bully anymore? All was peaceful on our side of the room until a mousy little boy with curly black hair shyly asked us for help with making a bracelet for his big brother.

"I want to make the very b-b-bestest bracelet for him, a-and who better to help than the Jewelry Princess!"

There's that annoying nickname again. I kept my temper in check. Contrary to popular belief, my temper doesn't blow up at the slightest offenses. I can be calm when I want to. TOTALLY CALM.

"I'm sorry, you got it all wrong. I'm not here to teach."

The boy instantly deflated at my rejection. "Oh. I'm sorry to bother you…"

He was just about to leave when Shizu called him back. "Wait! I can help you!"

"Really?"

"I prepared for this lesson, and I think I could do a decent job of teaching you the basics."

Shizu may not be particularly talented at art, but even he's miles better than me with a little practice. Tsk.

The kid seems to think so too when after a few seconds of scrutinizing the bracelet, he looked back up to Shizu and said, "I think it's good. Please teach me."

Shizu positively beamed… And stayed like that for an awkward minute or so. The kid's starting to look concerned. Taking pity on him, I patted him on the shoulder.

"Kiddo, relax. You just made his day."

0-0-0-0-0

Predictably, Shizu got a little attached to the kid. He kinda reminds me of how Shizu was when we first met. So unsure of himself, always seeking approval… Of course he'd want to help the kid. For the rest of the morning, Shizu stuck with the kid and helped him wherever he can. Soon enough, the kid also picked up on Shizu's eagerness to help and wanted to help Shizu in return. That's why the kid's here with us, helping us clean up the lab after Natalia didn't return from the bathroom and Damien just left as soon as the bell rang.

"That's the last of it," the kid cheerfully declared as he passed a tray of beakers for Shizu to put back into their shelves.

"Good job!" Shizu said, balancing the tray on one hand and petting the boy's head with the other. "You go on ahead now. We'll just close up the lab. See you later, Dylan!"

The boy, Dylan, smiled up and said his goodbyes before running off, muttering something about meeting up with his brother.

"Such a nice kid," Shizu said.

"Yeah, if only I could trade Gav for a little brother like that..."

"Fuyu!"

"What? Gav's obnoxious. He hardly visits home anyway. I wouldn't miss him."

Shizu said something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like the word 'tsundere'. Now, what did Kaji said that meant again? Where is that weeb-tionary when I need him? Oh right, he's hanging out with the twins. Something about setting Blake up with someone.

"Let's just go get lunch. I'm hungry."

"When are you not?"

For that verbal jab, Shizu is rewarded with a physical jab to the side. He laughed it off and led the way out of the lab. It took us a while to get to this point: the point where Shizu's no longer afraid to let out a more crass side of himself around me and Kaji. It's a shame he doesn't joke around as much as he used to. Just another subtle sign that the akuma attacks are affecting him more than he's letting on.

0-0-0-0-0

Even though Kaji and I managed to cheer up Shizu, what Natalia said at lunch still pisses me off. I told Shizu I was gonna go ahead and carried his stuff up here so I can finally confront that blonde witch without Shizu stopping me. It's not like I'm actually gonna punch her in the face. No matter how tempting it is. She's a weakling and I don't punch weaklings. I was standing by the door when she finally walked into the classroom.

"You know, if you're not gonna keep your opinions to yourself, why don't you at least have the decency to say it to our faces?"

"Or maybe you guys should learn to keep your ears where they don't belong," she talked back with a hint of venom lacing her usual honey-sweet tone. She didn't even face me. She just sat by one end of the teacher's desk and started prepping her notes for the next lesson.

I went around the desk so that I was right in front of her. "You were hardly being quiet when you were bad mouthing my friend."

Anger flashed in her face for a split second before it was gone like it was never there. Her plastic smile was up and she said, "Like how your friend is bad mouthing me?"

"You did just hogged the lesson and not let him teach. What about you? What did he do that made you so pissy around him."

"Then what about Damien? He never said a word to him..."

Never said a word? Oh if only this stupid blonde knew how much her friend hurt Shizu she wouldn't be ranting like this. Now I know for sure that she knew nothing. I've always suspected this to be the case. And yet here she is, talking like she knew everything.

"… What's his problem? Damien doesn't deserve-"

Natalia flinched and stopped her rant. That rush of anger I felt must've shown in my face. I pushed myself away from the teacher's desk and turned to the door. I didn't look back at Natalia, but I can tell she's confused.

"If you really want answers," I hissed through gritted teeth. "Maybe you should ask your _good_ friend Damien... If he'd tell you anything, that is."

I slammed the door behind me. Taking deep breaths, I told myself over and over to calm down. It wouldn't do to get akumatized over this. She isn't worth turning into an akuma and putting everyone around me in danger.

In the end, I didn't turn into an akuma. But my relief was short-lived as a few minutes later, an akuma attacked the school and Kaji was once again running towards the sounds of danger. That idiot! Now I have to follow him to make sure the idiot doesn't get himself killed.

0-0-0-0-0

A lot has changed since third grade… At least, that's what I like to tell myself.

I'm no longer the Jewelry Princess only to be admired from afar. I'm a strong fighter who can protect herself and others…

"Whatever you're trying to achieve here, you can shove it! I'm not letting you drag my friends into it!"

Right in front of me was yet another akuma. For whatever reason, he's after my friends. Like hell would I let him get to them without a fight!

"YOU'RE THE REASON MIDORIKAWA WON'T LISTEN TO ME!"

It was embarrassing how fast I was captured. Kaji, that idiot who has no common sense, managed to free himself from his own net and jumped after me just as Bully Hunter left the cafeteria.

Around fifty feet up later, Kaji had the nerve to ask, "Fuyu? Fuyu! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Just my pride. How about you? Did you hit your head back there? Because you must have a serious concussion to think that jumping after me is a good idea!"

"Oh. Sarcasm. You must be okay then."

"We're suspended about fifty feet off the ground by glowing beads and blue yarn. I'm doing better than okay, thank you for asking!"

"The akuma hasn't hurt us," at my glare, Kaji amended, "Technically speaking. Just stay positive! Ladybug will save us."

"Tsk. It would be better if we don't need to be saved at all."

It still stings that Kaji keeps getting himself into danger with akumas and there's nothing I could do about it. Shizu and I have tried countless times to get him to talk to us, but he's slippery. The guy is just so determined to jump at akumas, it's ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!

It got worse when the akuma grabbed me as a hostage. Chat Noire had this reckless scheme that sent me falling off the clock tower with Ladybug swinging down to catch me.

Just like that, it's like we're back to where it all started: by the clock tower, a superhero saving a helpless little girl.

"Are you-"

As soon as we landed, I pushed myself away from the superhero. I tilted my head up to the tower, pointedly avoiding his concerned gaze. I get enough of that from Kaji, Shizu, and the rest of my family. I don't need any more of that from a superhero too.

"I'm fine," I said, willing my voice not to tremble.

There was a loud explosion up in the clock tower that saved me from further questioning from the bug hero.

"You should go."

Ladybug did not linger any longer and swung himself back up to the clock tower… While I'm just standing down here, watching him disappear into the smoke coming out of the tower's roof.

Bullies are one thing. They're people. They don't have special powers. I can take them on no matter how many of them Damien has on his side. But akumas? All I can really do is sit and wait for the real heroes to come and rescue me like a damsel in distress… Like a princess.

Times like these, it feels like I went back to square one. The logical part of my brain tried to comfort me by saying that they're akuma. A normal teenager wouldn't stand a chance against them. I'm not weak for being helpless against akuma. But my pride still felt the blow and hated how useless I am. Weakling.

0-0-0-0-0

Miraculous Ladybug put everything back to normal and sent everyone back to the ground. Chat Noire fled the tower first, followed by Ladybug carrying the latest akuma victim.

"Fuyu!" Kaji yelled as he glomped me. Just as quickly as he hugged me, he jumped away as though he was burned. He tried to smile, but it came off as forced. "You're okay."

I punched him in the arm.

"Ow! Fuyu!"

"That was for making me worry, idiot!"

Kaji rolled his eyes. "Well excuse me, little miss badass. I'm not the one who fell off the clock tower."

"It's not my fault the akuma took me hostage. At least I don't actively try to put myself in danger."

Kaji huffed and turned away from me. "I only did what I had to do."

I pulled him by the shoulder to get him to look my way. "No you don't."

He looked back with a stubborn glint in his eye, no different from his headstrong father that often frustrated him.

"I have to."

Things soon went from awkward to tense and finally to normal. Kaji was whining the whole way back about how unfair life is because he couldn't get an interview with the heroes today.

That was when my phone rang. It's probably Shizu, asking if we're okay. He could just check the Ladyblog to know we're okay, but the frantic nerd prefers to hear it from ourselves that we're okay. Sap. I reassured him that we're fine, and asked where he is. His answer was concerning.

"He's with Damien?" Kaji asked after Shizu hung up.

I gripped my phone tightly at the sound of the bully's name. "Apparently."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Same."

0-0-0-0-0

Worried about his class since the twins aren't responding to his calls, Kaji decided to go ahead to check on his class leaving me alone at the playground to deal with Shizuke and Damien.

"Shizu!" I yelled as soon as I saw that familiar head of blue hair. He's not alone. I placed myself by Shizu's side, protecting him from Damien. I glared up at the giant bully and growled, "You better not be messing with Shizu's head again."

How nostalgic. We're even at the exact place where I first fought Damien to save Shizu.

Instead of glaring back like I expected, Damien nodded his head down. "I know, and I'm sorry for everything I did as Bully Hunter, I-"

"Zip it. Haven't you seen the Ladyblog? People see me with Kaji on the Ladyblog all the freaking time! I of all people would know that akumas are just unlucky people who were controlled by Hawkmoth when they were down! I'm not gonna hold anything you said or did as an akuma against you. Apologizing about that is stupid, so I don't wanna hear it."

"Right… Sorry."

Damien looked down to the side, avoiding my glare.

"I have better reasons to be mad at you that you're actually accountable for."

I've had enough of this jerk. With a huff, I grabbed Shizuke by the arm and marched ahead.

"Let's just get back to the classroom. The yellow eyesore must be getting tired of taking care of a classroom full of screaming children by herself."

When we got back in class, I was surprised by the change of dynamics in their trio. For the rest of the afternoon, Shizu was able to have his turn in teaching. Good for him.

Natalia was being pissier than usual when we first entered the room. Probably my fault, but I'm not apologizing when I'm not feeling it. A quick talk with Damien was all it took for her to try to be more civil. She occasionally shoots questioning looks at Damien after that. Guess it wasn't too late for the dumb blonde to learn things.

I still don't trust Damien. He may be acting nice and helping Shizu now, but it may be just like the old days… He might be trying to get Shizu to owe him so he can have him on a leash again. But this isn't like old times. I'm stronger now. I'm not scared of him. I won't let him hurt Shizu again.

0-0-0-0-0

"Just because you got him akumatized doesn't mean you owe it to him to forgive him."

"Fuyu! Feet off the coffee table!" Shizu swat my feet down. "And no, I'm not doing this because I akumatized him and owe him forgiveness. I've grown out of that mentality," he huffed and placed two cups and a pitcher of ice cold lemonade on the coffee table. "I just… I just don't like the person I become when I let my grudge get ahead of me. That's why I want to stop being mad at him."

I drop my glare at that and shook my head. "Sometimes, I think you're being too nice for your own good. It's okay to be mad at him. He had it coming."

"Not when I'm hurting him and he hasn't done anything recently to deserve it."

"You say that like you're not still affected by all the crap he said before," I poured myself a cup of lemonade, careful not to break the glass with my tight angry grip. "He's a horrible person."

"He's changed. That's not what he is anymore."

Shizu, you stupid bleeding heart. Now we're here in his living room discussing the latest akuma, Bully Hunter, who turned out to be Damien.

Shizu told me everything that happened. Apparently, Shizu is the one who got Damien akumatized by growing a spine and yelling at Damien about all the pain he caused him. What a milestone! Must be seen to be believed! Kaji would've been here too if he wasn't stuck in detention with the twins. Something about setting the classroom on fire.

But now Shizu's feeling guilty about standing up for himself. Ugh. Typical Shizu. As strict as he is around everyone, he takes it the hardest when he believes he's the one stepping out of line. Better make sure he doesn't do something stupid like…

"You're not going back to that toxic pit he called 'friendship', are you?"

"Of course not! I know better. I wouldn't even call us friends right now, we're more like acquaintances. But if he starts acting like how he used to, I'll throw him."

"Good."

I trust him to at least defend himself if Damien ever resorts to violence. As for the mind games, I'll just have to keep an eye on him.

"But if he really wants to change for the better, we shouldn't discourage him."

I slammed the glass over the wooden coffee table. It only made a loud clang but it didn't even crack.

"Argh… Fine! Whatever. Just don't let your pity cloud your judgement."

"Don't worry Fuyu. This won't be the same as third grade. Besides, I know you have my back."

"You can bet on that," I picked up the jar hidden under the coffee table and popped a cookie into my mouth.

Lately, Shizu's taken up to baking cookies. His apartment is never without a full jar of them. They're actually pretty good, better than the ones from most stores – probably because he doesn't skimp on certain ingredients, like chocolate chips. Shizu doesn't know to how to half-ass things. To this day, he never explained why the sudden random interest in confectionary. Not that I'm complaining. Naturally, I've taken up to cookie hunting at his place whenever I visit.

Shizu gave me a disapproving look. Oh right, he made these. He'd probably want some for himself.

I grabbed a handful of cookies and offered it to him. "Here."

He groaned, like this wasn't what he wanted, but took the cookies anyway. Weirdly, he put some into his backpack. Saving it for later? But we're in his apartment, and I can see his fridge just beyond the counter that separates the living room from the kitchen…

"Actually, I have a favor to ask you."

"What is it?" I said in between chewing.

Shizu's nose scrunched at my lack of table manners. What a mom.

"Fuyu," he took a deep breath before continuing. "I need you to help me ask out Blake."

The cookie jar nearly slipped off my fingers as I choked on a cookie. Shizu quickly refilled my glass which I gratefully accepted. As soon as I cleared my throat, I yelped, "Wait, what?!"

Realizing how he worded his request, Shizu's face turned red and he stuttered out, "That's not what I meant! I mean, we ask him to go out with us! Platonically! Just a group of friends on an outing!"

Wiping my face clean of crumbs, I asked, "What do you have in mind?"

0-0-0-0-0

And that is how I find myself here, in an arcade, with a certain pair of red haired models tagging along on our 'Friday Game Night'.

"Fuyu! Why did you brought _her_ along?!" Shizu hissed while the twins were busy playing at a dance game.

"She would've bitten my head off if I didn't."

Kaji wasn't kidding when he said that Blair is the overprotective twin. Yeesh. Kinda funny when I remembered that she's the _younger_ twin. No wonder she and Kaji get along.

"I'm sure you could've handled her," Shizu lowered his volume and said, "Even if she turns out to be Hawkmoth, it's not like she gets much exercise from that. As long as you take her down before she transforms, you should be able to overpower her."

"As much as it flatters me that you think I'm stronger than the city's most wanted supervillain, I don't see why Blair shouldn't be allowed to come along on an outing to cheer up her twin."

Shizu huffed and went over to the dance game to glare at Blair. As soon as Blake was defeated, Kaji pushed Shizu in his place to challenge Blair. The redhead's eyes glinted when she saw her next challenger and said something that made him blush furiously as he yelled, "No! I am not dancing to that song with you!"

Kaji cackled to himself on the side, pleased at his 'matchmaking skills'. Just because he can't set Blake up with someone, doesn't mean he's not gonna try to set up the other twin with his best bud. Blake leaned over the air hockey table I was standing by, waiting for a turn.

"You guys seriously going through all this trouble just to cheer me up about Natalia?"

"Someone's observant," I stated flatly. "But yeah, that's exactly what's happening here. Is it working?"

"I suppose this beats moping around in my room all day."

"Good."

"Uhm, yeah. I better thank Keagan, then," Blake awkwardly said as he turned to look back at Blair and Shizu at the dance machine.

The aforementioned 'couple' has finally decided to dance to a bubbly K-Pop song and were showing off their dance skills. It looks like no one's gonna be getting a turn any time soon. They were starting to attract a crowd, most of them starting to notice that there's a model in this beat up old arcade.

"You know, this is all Shizu's idea."

"Really? I would've thought it was Keagan who planned this."

I snorted. "If he had his way, he'd be setting you up on a blind date."

Cold sweat broke into Blake's face as he shuddered. "Thank God Shizuke toned it down. I'm really not in the mood for romance right now."

"Shizu's always been the more down to earth one in our friend group."

Blake looked confused with my statement. "… You're not giving yourself enough credit."

"I'm serious."

"Well, someone has to keep those two hotheads in check and watch out for them. From what I can see, it's you who's doing just that."

I shook my head. "No, you don't get it. Shizu… He's sort of like our rock. Yes, he's like an overbearing mother hen sometimes who jumps to ridiculous conclusions about your sister… But he's always there to give us a listening ear and an honest opinion on things. When the world goes crazy, we can always count on him to keep us grounded. No strings attached. People like that are hard to come by for people like me and Kaji."

The curse of the rich and famous, as Kaji once said.

"… I get that," he said, eyes staring intently at Blair. "I suppose I have someone like that too."

We stayed in silence, neither of us feeling the need to talk to each other and like it better that way. Leave the socializing to the extroverts. As soon as the air hockey table was cleared, we took our places and started a game. The point of this outing was to help keep his mind off of Natalia, and playing a good game of air hockey was one way to do it.

Besides, I'd rather not give Blake advice for his love life. I, of all people, can't give him advice on romance without sounding like a hypocrite.

"Hey, guys!" Kaji cheerfully greeted as he tapped me on the shoulder.

The distraction was enough for Blake to sneak past my defense and score a win. I glared at the redhead who was grinning smugly, making his family resemblance with Blair all the more obvious, then I glared at the cause of my loss.

"What?" I hissed, using my anger at losing to cover up the fact that my face is turning red for any other reason.

Kaji, thick skinned as ever, wasn't affected by my glares and cheerfully carried on. "Has either of you seen Shizu or Blair? I lost them in the crowd."

"Nope," Blake said, after a quick scan of the arcade. Blair at least should be easy to spot with her long crimson hair.

"Think my 'secretly dating' theory is actually happening here?" Kaji grinned, perfectly covering up his anxiety about Shizu's disappearing acts with shipping. Typical Kaji. If I wasn't familiar with his patterns, I wouldn't have been able to tell it apart from his usual shippy self.

To him, shipping is fuel for optimism. Lost an uncle? Ship his teacher with his aunt so he can get a new one. Friend flaking on us? He's secretly dating someone, not purposefully avoiding us. I suppose there are worse coping mechanisms than shipping. Why can't he be content with shipping LadyNoire instead of jumping into akuma attacks to take vids them?

"Oh Bro…~ Check out what we got for you.~"

Blair and Shizu came up from behind Blake, and Blair draped a black hoodie over her brother. When Blake held it out, revealed the cat ears over the hood, the silver studs, the pockets with the zippers, the cuffs, the bell charm… the jacket may not be made of leather, but its design is clearly inspired by Chat Noire. Blake raised a brow at the two.

"You guys teamed up and hogged the dance machine for this?"

Shizu was nervously shifting about. "Yeah… I-We thought you'd like it…"

"I don't like it…"

"Oh," Shizu deflated, thinking Blake is upset and not noticing the growing smile on the model boy's face.

"I love it!" Blake exclaimed. I've never seen the normally stone-faced twin so _giddy_ before. To the side, Kaji had his trusty phone out to record this. "Sis and I have always been a fan of superheroes and like collecting hero merch."

"See, Shizuke. I told you he'd like it," Blair said, patting Shizu by the shoulder in a friendly manner.

Shizu swatted her hand away, folded his arms close to his chest, and glared at her, the lights above hitting his glasses just right made it look more intimidating. "Just because I helped you win doesn't mean we're friends."

Blair mock pouted at him. "D'aww, and I thought you were starting to warm up to me.~"

As for Blake, he was too busy excitedly putting on his new jacket to care about his sister hitting on Shizu.

"Man, I always wanted a Chat Noire jacket! Chat Noire merchandise are much harder to find than Ladybug merchandise. I don't know if it's because Ladybug's more popular or it's because more people can pull off black than red with black polka dots so her stuff sells out faster…" and so he droned on and on about how there should be more Chat Noire stuff on the market. Next to him, Blair was nodding eagerly at everything he said. Shizu too, for once in perfect agreement with the redhead.

I don't know what was more surprising: the twins turning out to be superhero geeks or the fact that Shizu willingly cooperated with Blair even if he still hates her. Then again, he was able to work with Damien and Natalia a few days ago and they're not quite buddy-buddy with each other.

"Oooh… Does Shizu have some competition for Chat Noire's attention here?" Kaji teased.

Shizu stiffened and stared at Blake in horror, probably thinking something stupid like how he doesn't stand a chance against a model. I always found it weird that Shizu developed a celebrity crush on Chat Noire, since she doesn't quite fit Shizu's usual preference for Yamato Nadeshiko types.

On the other hand, Blake cringed in disgust. Curiously enough, Blair's face also cringed similarly at about the same time. Is this a twin thing? Always sympathizing strongly with each other and feeling their twin's every pain?

"No. Just no," he firmly said, an eyebrow twitching. "Chat Noire is cool and all, but I don't like her like that. I have an aversion for redheads."

Shizu visibly exhaled in relief.

"To all the redheads who have a thing for my brother, I am so sorry for being born with red hair more fabulous than yours," Blair said, not sounding very sorry at all as she flipped her crimson red hair. Snarky redhead.

Now that I think about it, Blair and Chat Noire do have that in common… Maybe Shizu liking Blair isn't as impossible as I thought.

Before this conversation can devolve into a superhero geek fest between the twins and my two hero fan friends, someone's stomach growled and Kaji suggested we grab a bite to eat at the snack bar.

0-0-0-0-0

We gathered around a booth, the table full of food – Kaji's treat. Shizu would've protested but Kaji shot him down by saying, "You and Blair got him a jacket, and Fuyu let him beat her at air hockey," ignoring Blake's indignant 'hey!' behind him, Kaji continued his argument with a pout. "Let me do this one thing!"

We took our seats in the half circle booth. I was seated between Kaji and Shizu. Much to Shizu's dismay, he's seated next to Blair. Predictably, Blake took the other end of the line, right next to his sister. We passed around cans of coke and had a toast.

"I would like to say, thank you all for dragging us here today. We had a lot of fun!" Blair declared, raising her coke can like it's a classy champagne flute.

Blake stood up with his coke also raised like a champagne flute, and nodded towards Shizu with a shy smile. Wow. This guy should smile more often. Kaji thinks so too, he even had his phone out to take a picture of the _'angsty emo bad boy'_ smiling.

"Yeah. Thanks. I really appreciate it, Shizuke."

What he didn't say was that he's referring to not letting Kaji set him up with someone tonight. Tactful.

"Oh, uhm… You're welcome," Shizu said as he fixed his glasses, which is actually a poor attempt to hide how flustered he is. He's straight but even he's affected by Blake's smile.

Blair turned her head towards Shizu, eyes wide. "Wait, this was your idea?"

Kaji reached over my head and ruffled Shizu's hair. "Yep. This guy made it his job to look out for everyone," Kaji winked at Blair. "Quite a catch, no?"

Sigh. He still hasn't given up on the ShizuBlair ship.

Instead of following that up with her usual flirty quips, Blair just looked at Shizu with analytic green eyes before saying, "You really went out of your way to cheer up my brother… Didn't think this is how you'd go about it, though."

Shizu huffed in indignation. "What were you expecting then?"

"You giving Blake a pile of mind-numbing schoolwork to get his mind off Natalia or something."

"Did you honestly believe I only think of school-related stuff all the time?"

A secretive smirk made its way to Blair's face, "Nope. I'm pretty sure you think of me at least half the time.~"

Poor Shizu, unable to deny it, he had no words for Blair's blatant flirtation and just gracelessly sputtered how she's wrong while she just laughed at his flustered state. Kaji was cackling to himself at the spectacle and Blake just shook his head, but he looks just as amused by their antics.

"See? Shipping really does make the world a happier place," Kaji whispered to me, which made me roll my eyes.

"Whatever, Kaji."

In the midst of the chaos, I saw Blair stealing glances at Shizu from time to time, smiling that candid smile she doesn't use for a pictorial… Is the way to this model's heart through her twin brother? If it is, then Shizu just won himself some brownie points he didn't want. Kaji noticed too, but didn't point it out and just quietly took pictures.

Dinner soon ended and it was time to leave. Blair went outside, away from the noise of the arcade so she can call the Liungs to fetch them. Blake stayed behind to talk to us.

"I've had a lot of fun today thanks to you guys."

"No problem, Blake," I said.

"You can always call us any time you need a little pick-me-up after a heartbreak," Kaji added with a wink.

I elbowed him in the ribs, making him gag on air.

"Geez, Fuyu. Jealous much?" he said in a light joking tone, indicating that he's not that hurt.

I ignored him in favor of talking to Blake. "Don't hesitate to call any of us for that or if you just want to hang out. It would be nice to have another sane person around."

"Yeah. Next time we all hang out, I hope it doesn't have something to do with my failure in romance…" Blake shook his head and steadied his voice like he's making a promise. "No, I'll make sure it's not going to be about that again."

"Mind explaining to us what this is about?" I asked.

"I'm moping now because I kept hesitating until it was too late. If I gave it a shot sooner, maybe Natalia and I would be dating by now, and I wouldn't be here thinking about all the time and opportunities I wasted."

"But what if she still dumps you anyway?" Shizu asked, reminding us that he's still here and hasn't pulled his disappearing act again.

Blake paused to think about it. His lips tilted up to a sad smile as he said, "Even if it doesn't lead to anything, I at least tried and gave it my all. I wouldn't be here wondering about 'what ifs'. There's nothing regrettable about that."

Shizu fell silent as he adjusted his glasses. He looked to be pondering something before he said, "… That's understandable."

"Why, Shizu? Planning on confessing to someone?" Kaji asked.

"N-N-NO!"

While Kaji was busy questioning Shizu about the mystery ship involving our friend, Blake was looking at me pointedly. I narrowed my eyes back at him. No. I am not taking his bait. Nuh-uh. This guy doesn't even know anything. Now's not a good time to worry about my feelings when a certain idiot is trying to solve his issues by jumping at akuma instead of talking it out with his friends.

The moment was gone, and Blake is back to talking to everyone.

"Blair's right. I won't get anywhere if I don't do anything about it," as if realizing what he just said, Blake gave us a stern look and added, "Just don't tell her I said that. I don't need her getting any more insufferable than she already is."

Shizu and I nodded at him while Kaji made zipping gestures over his mouth.

"Hey!" Blair called after us from outside the arcade. "What's taking you so long?! Are you having a heart-to-heart without me?!"

Blake rolled his eyes. "Coming, sis!"

With that, we all went out the arcade just in time to see Blair hang up on her phone.

"Our ride's coming soon. Did you guys actually have a heart-to-heart?"

We all shook our heads in denial, honoring Blake's request.

Loud screeching of tires alerted us when a car parked in front of the arcade, gangster style. The driver seat's window rolled down revealing a man – no, a teenager with brownish black hair and dark grey eyes with a wide smile planted on his rosy white face.

"Little bro! Little sis!" the guy greeted with a wide friendly smile, looking nothing like his so-called younger siblings. This must be twins' foster brother, Vincent Liung. "I'm here to pick you up!"

"We can see that," Blair flatly said.

The twins hopped into the back of the car. As the car drove away, we could see the twins waving at us through the windows. Blake in particular was giving me a meaningful look while mouthing something that looks suspiciously like 'tell Kaji'. Cowardly meddlesome bastard.

Kaji was squinting after the car. "Hey Fuyu, did you get what Blake was trying to say? I couldn't see it from my angle."

"It was nothing," I said with a straight face. While I prefer being blunt about things, that doesn't mean I can't pull a good poker face. "We better get home too," I was about to pull out my phone to call either Mama or Gav, when Kaji spoke up.

"No need for that. Aunt Vera said Uncle Ross will be here in fifteen minutes," how and when did he contact his aunt when he didn't stop talking to anyone the whole evening remains a mystery. "She said he'll be cool with giving you guys a ride too."

"Whipped and not even married yet," I shook my head in mild disapproval. Mr. Ross is back to being lame and hasn't done anything cool since third grade. At least he managed to propose to Kaji's aunt. It only took him five years to get there. "When's the wedding?"

"I don't know, but I heard it's sometime this spring!" Kaji was practically sparkling when he announced it. "They're still debating on whether to hold the reception at the castle or at Lucia Park. Isn't it exciting?"

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever."

Formal events. And on Spring too. Ugh… That means dresses and pastels.

Seemingly reading my mind, Kaji said in a comforting tone, "Don't worry, I'm sure I can get Aunt Vera to let you wear a suit."

It's times like these that I wish I can get him the way he gets me.

"That's a relief."

Content with my response, Kaji turned to where I believe Shizu was standing.

"So Shizu, until Uncle Ross comes around, care for a round of- Shizu?"

No, Shizu didn't disappear again. Not physically, anyway. He just stood there by the door with a glazed look on his face.

"You still there, bud?" Kaji asked, waving his hand in front of Shizu's glasses.

That seemed to snap him out of whatever funk he got his head in. Shizu nearly tripped over his own legs as soon as he was alert again. It's not unusual for Shizu to get lost in his thoughts. What's unusual is that this is happening more and more often lately and he's not saying anything about it. Sometimes, he'd space out in the middle of a conversation. There are times where he looks like he wants to tell us something, but for some reason, he doesn't.

"I'm here! What were we talking about?"

As much as I wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, I knew he'd just shut us out. But if he thinks for one second that I'm unaware that he's hiding something, he's got another thing coming.

"Mr. Ross is fetching us here in fifteen minutes. Want me to crush you at air hockey before we leave?"

"Oh, okay Fuyu."

One of these days, I'll get him to talk.

"Hey! I asked him to play with me first! I called dibs!"

I'll get them _both_ to talk.

0-0-0-0-0

Notes:

Fridge, the reason Shizuke got flustered when Blake smiled at him is because he subconsciously recognizes it as a smile similar to Chat Noire's sincere smile.

Anywho, this is the end of this episode and the next one is still a work in progress. Not gonna say when it'll be out since I'm bad at keeping up with deadlines for personal projects. So next episode is gonna be more Blair-centric and is focused on her model job. That's all I can say without spoiling it too much. To those of you who actually read my story this far, you are awesome! Especially to queen123414, king of the kaiju, brandonmille02, derleks47, and Sakmet and Hathor who faved and followed this story. Thank you very much!


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